FALLEN
by LitBlerd601
Summary: *** Terror flooded Lucy's veins, chilling her entire body from head to toe. Despite the fact that her blood suddenly ran cold, Lucy could feel a familiar heat radiating against her back that she had come to dread... *** [NALU, Dark/Angst, Romance, Drama, Breaks the Citrus Scale (Lemon juice splashin' EVERYWHERE!), Rape/Forced; MATURE READERS ONLY!]
1. Fairy, Where Are You Going?: An Intro

_*FEARI*_

 _Terror flooded Lucy's veins, chilling her entire body from head to toe. Despite the fact that her blood suddenly ran cold, Lucy could feel a familiar heat radiating against her back that she had come to dread. She emitted a small gasp when she looked in the mirror and caught a glimpse of a towering silhouette that stood behind her. Lucy instantly recognized the outline of spiky hair, though all she could make out clearly were two slants of eyes that glowed gold in the darkness of the bathroom._

 _"N-Natsu..." She said in a shaky whisper._

 _*FEARI*_

TRUST me, you guys, this is NOT what you expect. The reason why I'm even WRITING this story is because on top of being an EXTREME NALU fangirl), I was on the Internet LOOKING for this story high and low, and as far as I can see-it DOESN'T EXIST. At least, it didn't until...NOW...

 _*FEARI*_

 _ **INTRODUCTION:**_ _In which I do the world a favor and briefly explain to you exactly what this fanfic is_ _ **not.**_

Oh, but before I start:

 **Disclaimer:** **FAIRY TAIL, all characters, likenesses and related indicia are owned by Hiro Mashima, Del Ray Manga, Kodansha, Weekly Shonen Magazine, Madman Entertainment, TV Tokyo and Funimation. Enjoy this FICTIONAL, FAN-WRITTEN story, but please also go support the official release. :)**

*FEARI*

Hey, everybody! If you're reading this, then I managed to pull you in with that summary. (That's actually a scene from the story. ;-)) Summaries can be hard to write, don't you agree? Well, I promise you I'm not trolling. I just want to quickly explain what the situation here is (in a NON-SPOILER FASHION, okay?) So bear with me, this won't take long at all:

In _**Fallen**_ , you will **NOT** find:

* PWP (Porn without plot; "Plot? What plot?"; "Poorly written porn")

* Misspellings, grammatical errors, cop-out plot writing

* (Disgraceful) Lemons that make absolutely NO sense and are awkwardly placed in the story

* Though there IS a situation in this story that my fellow FT/NALU fans probably read in a hundred different times a hundred different ways from a hundred different writers, TRUST ME WHEN I SAY...it's _**STILL**_ not gonna go the way you _**think**_ it will. Like I already mentioned in the description...the particular kink/Dark Side I seem to possess does NOT exist in NALU world, so...I must write it myself.

* A happy ending...or WILL YOU? Depends on how you define "happy." I still haven't decided on that yet. Mwah, ha, haaaaaa...

And that's it. See? That wasn't so bad, was it? Now that I've TOTALLY piqued your interest (or at least, I HOPE I have), feel free to follow me and/or this story and stay tuned for CHAPTER ONE...

I plan on updating one chapter per week, so you won't have to worry about wondering, "Oh, where's Lit? Is she gonna update? When?" I want to have a SET SCHEDULE so that you will automatically know when to expect the next installment. It's only fair. I know the frustration of sinking neck deep into a wonderful story (and you're so ready to DROWN COMPLETELY IN IT, just let it rise the rest of the way over your head) only to find that it hasn't been updated in one, two, THREE years...it's been put on hiatus, etc. etc... And it's SUCH a blow to your high, so to speak. Then you have to start all over again on someone else's story, and maybe...just maybe...in the back of your mind, you're left wondering how that incomplete story would go if it was still being updated.

NOPE! Not I! I will NOT be one of those writers! If for any reason I'm unable to update, you will be the FIRST to know in my status updates.

Well, I think I've covered everything.

 **CHAPTER ONE** will be up **NEXT WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8th, 2016.**


	2. No More Fairy Tales

**Author's Note:** **Hey, everybody! I KNOW I said that Chapter One would be up on WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8TH, 2016 but...I can't contain my excitement anymore! I _really_ want to get this out to you early-just this once. ;)**

 **Disclaimer:** **FAIRY TAIL, all characters, likenesses and related indicia are owned by Hiro Mashima, Del Ray Manga, Kodansha, Weekly Shonen Magazine, Madman Entertainment, TV Tokyo and Funimation. Enjoy this FICTIONAL, FAN-WRITTEN story, but please also go support the official release. :)**

*FEARI*

"Way to go, Lucy! That's how you show 'em!"

The beautiful, buxom young lady with blonde hair tied up into a half side ponytail turned around at the sound of her name and beamed brightly. Her copper-colored eyes danced with excitement and determination.

Lucy Heartfilia was a Celestial Wizard, an especially _rare_ type of wizard who could create bonds called contracts with Celestial Spirits from another world. Once Lucy entered a contract with a Celestial Spirit, that Spirit was to become her servant and protector, coming to her side whenever she needed them to. However, Lucy never viewed her Spirits as servants, but actually as some of her closest friends.

Right now she stood before one of said Spirits in a private far-off field surrounded only by a ring of trees, breathing heavily but still feeling quite able. Lucy felt extremely proud of herself lately; she was outside undergoing intense training with Taurus the Golden Bull, one of the rare Celestial Spirits of the Zodiac.

"Yoooooooouuuu've got some great moooooooooooves!" Taurus bellowed joyously as he leapt into the air, landed heavily on his hooves in front of Lucy and flexed his bulging biceps in an attempt to impress her. "Now how about a smoooooooooch?" he added, puckering his lips.

"NO WAY, YOU PERVERT!" Lucy yelled, skipping two feet backwards as she scrambled desperately out of Taurus's reach. "I'm ready to take a quick breather anyway."

She wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand and walked over to the small blue cat who sat under one of the trees in the fresh green grass and cheered her on from the shade. He gave a mischievous smile.

"You were _great_ , Lucy!" the cat exclaimed as she plopped down next to him. "And I _never_ thought I'd actually _compliment_ you about anything, _ever!"_

Lucy glared down at the cat, "Yeah, and I never thought you'd have enough sense to do so either."

The cat, whose name was Happy, had already turned his attention back to the succulent fish he cradled in his hands and he completely disregarded Lucy.

She scoffed, rolled her eyes and leaned back against the tree trunk. Then she felt something nudge her in her other side, making her look down at the source. A small white dog with the face of a snowman trembled and squealed as he waved excitedly up at her. His name was Plue and he was also one of Lucy's beloved Celestial Spirits. She gave Plue a warm smile, "Thanks, Plue. I appreciate your encouragement too."

As she caught her breath, Lucy's silent gaze drifted up towards the sunny, clear blue sky. Within the endless vast of space above her, she retreated inside her thoughts.

Lucy was a member of one of the most powerful wizard guilds in all of Fiore: FAIRY TAIL. She had been a member for quite some time now, but in the years that she'd been there, Lucy constantly faced one problem: she was _not_ as strong as her comrades. In fact, Lucy was often seen as the "weakest link," and that actually scared her _more_ than the monsters and rivals that she ever faced in the past.

Today officially made it two weeks since she began her secret training sessions with her Celestial Spirits-and _boy_ , was it hard! From scrambling around trying to keep anyone else in the guild from finding out all the way down to the trainings themselves, Lucy wasn't sure which was actually the hardest.

She also wasn't exactly sure _why_ everyone else's opinion mattered to her so much, but she knew _one_ thing for sure-she would _train_ and train _hard_ until she was sure that her strength was on far more even ground with that of her fellow guild members, especially the wizards _she_ was on a team with.

Lucy heaved a heavy sigh as each of her team members' faces flashed through her mind: the austere glare of the flaming redhead, Erza Scarlet; the cool, calm, collected smirk of the raven-haired Gray Fullbuster; and finally...the wild, wide-eyed, sharp-toothed grin of the pink-haired **(A/N: Okay, okay...I'm SOOO trollin' right now, lol. I mean to say...*ahem, ahem*-SALMON-haired)** Natsu Dragneel. They were all so powerful in their own unique ways, and then there was Lucy...a mere keeper of keys.

 _NO, I am_ not _going there,_ Lucy told herself firmly. _No negative thoughts! I'm doing so well so far! I can't wait until I show everybody back at Fairy Tail the new and improved powerhouse on the block!_

Lucy smiled lightly and with that, she slowly closed her eyes.

"Aww, don't tell me you're all worn out already, Lucy. _I_ didn't even get to be the cause!"

Lucy's eyes snapped back open to find a stunningly handsome, bespectacled young man with spiky deep orange hair standing over her, smiling slyly.

"Loke! What the hell are you doing here?!" Lucy demanded as she bolted upright from her comfortable position in the shade.

"Well, I was just wondering why you decided to train without inviting _me,"_ Loke replied with a feigned pout. He pompously adjusted his red suit tie and continued, "It's the latest word back in the Celestial World. You know I _could_ help train you up _real_ good. I've got the _best_ workout regimen that includes you, me, and a horizontal pos-"

"SHUT IT!" Lucy screeched, cutting the Celestial Lion off. "This is _exactly_ why I didn't call you! Dealing with _one_ perv is _more_ than enough!" She flung her open arms out and gestured at the center of the field towards Taurus, who gasped dramatically at the offense.

"Now, why would yooooou ever call me a perv? I simply admire your beauuuuuuuty!" He said with his tongue dangling lustfully from his mouth.

"Ugh, whatever," Lucy muttered as she stood back up. "Let's just keep going now!"

"But I thought you were taking a break?" Happy said, finally turning his attention back to everyone else now that his delicious fish was all gone.

"Yeah, well I've decided to cut my break short." Lucy walked back towards Taurus.

"Of _course_ you did," said Loke. "You just can't stand to pass up the chance to let _me_ help train that body of yours-"

"I said SHUT IT!"

So Lucy, Taurus and Loke resumed their training while Plue watched in wobbling excitement and Happy watched on through lazy, heavy-lidded eyes; eating that fish made him drowsy, but he still didn't want to miss out on any of the action.

 _Wow! If only Natsu were here to see this!_ The cat thought to himself.

...

"Ahhh... _relief,"_ Lucy sighed as she sank into a hot, steaming bubble bath later that night. "That training was so intense! I can't _wait_ to get in bed and go to sleep!"

She spent a few minutes rubbing her arms down with water as she quietly reflected on her training.

 _"Hey, don't you think you should call it a day now? We've been going at it for hours," Loke asked, his body still glowing with hot golden light._

 _"No!" Lucy exclaimed as she gripped her whip handle in defiance. " I want to keep going! I_ have _to keep going!"_

 _At that point, Lucy stood on wobbling legs and she was covered with dirt and sweat. She felt beyond exhausted, but she refused to let up now. The training was going so well! She insisted that they didn't take it easy on her. She even learned a few new maneuvers based on one of Loke's attacks!_

 _"Leo has a point, yooooou know," Taurus said. He jabbed the blade of his giant ax into the ground and leaned against the handle. "Yooooou look like you're about to fall over!"_

 _Lucy shook her head furiously. "No! I want to keep going!"_

 _Loke took a careful step towards her. "Why do you want to train so badly? Where did this even come from?"_

 _Lucy finally snapped. "Where did this come from, Loke? You wanna know where did this come from? It comes from the fact that I am_ sick _and_ tired _of always being the weakest one in the guild!"_

 _Loke, Taurus, Happy and Plue all froze where they were as Lucy looked wildly around at all of them with a borderline manic glint in her eye. "You think I don't realize what everyone_ thinks _of me-what they all_ say _about me? I've read the articles in Sorcerer Magazine! I've heard the gossip on the streets! I've even heard the jokes and remarks back at Fairy Tail! And_ that's _what hurts the most!" Lucy's voice suddenly caught in her throat as tears began to sting her eyes._

 _"I've been sheltered all my life! Just a regular pampered little princess! I never learned how to fight because my parents never thought I needed to learn, so naturally I didn't think so either..." She trailed off and lowered her gaze to the ground, unable to maintain eye contact with the four before her anymore._

 _"But I got tired of that life, as you already know...and that's when I ventured out on my own to find this guild. I was so excited when I first joined. Everyone was-and still_ is- _like family but...it didn't take long for me to realize that I couldn't possibly keep up with everyone and their natural abilities."_

 _"Lucy..." Loke began gently._

 _Lucy abruptly looked back up at Taurus, Loke, Happy and Plue. "No, Loke! There's nothing you can tell me to convince me of anything else! I've always been the weakest one here!" she yelled, cutting across him. "That's not to say I have no strengths_ at all _, but for some reason it just never seems to be enough. This is why I_ have _to get stronger!"_

 _Lucy flung her arms into the air, suddenly beside herself with rage. "It's been the same old shit for years! I've already been kidnapped on more than one occasion, always forced into the role of some damsel-in-distress! Matter of fact, that's how me and Natsu first met! He intervened on some perv who was pretending to be_ HIM _!"_

 _"Wow, I didn't know_ that," _said Taurus, shuffling his hooves uncomfortably._

 _"Yeah!" Lucy ranted on. "And it definitely doesn't help that I'm young, beautiful and blonde-I'm a walkin' freakin' cliche!"_

 _Happy sniggered into his paw at that notion and earned another death stare from Lucy._

 _"The point_ is," _she pressed on as she limped a few steps to stare off into the distance, "This isn't some silly old fairy tale...this is FAIRY TAIL, the strongest, fiercest, most tight-knit guild in all of Fiore! I can't keep waiting on Natsu or_ anyone _else to rescue me! What if one day no one is around to save me when I need it the most?!"_

 _Energy spent and unable to support her own weight any longer, Lucy's legs finally gave out on her and the world became a tilting blur as she collapsed onto the ground._

 _"LUCY!" Everyone immediately rushed to her side. Loke dropped to his knees and lifted Lucy's upper body towards himself, cradling her to his chest. She managed to open her eyes and look weakly up at the Spirit the held onto her for dear life._

 _"I...I didn't know you felt that way, " said Loke. "You're not weak, Lucy. You're actually the most powerful Master who ever possessed my key! And no..." he added when Lucy opened her mouth in protest. "I'm not just saying this because I'm absolutely_ infatuated _with you. I really mean it."_

 _Lucy managed a small smile at Loke's attempt to lighten the mood. "T...Thanks, Loke. That really means a lot to me."_

 _"Now come on," Loke went on as he lifted her from the ground into his arms and held her bridal style. "Let's get you home. If almost passing out isn't a good enough sign to let you know that you've had enough training for the day, then I don't know what_ is."

*FEARI*

 **Author's Note:** **Well, we finally made it, you guys! The end of Chapter One! So what do you think?** _ **SURELY**_ **you didn't expect me to just jump right into the dark and juicy stuff, did you? :) I've read too many stories that does exactly that. (Not even the manga or anime jumped head-first into darkness)! Where's the fun in that? ;P I love the signature feel of Fairy Tail that we all know and love. Besides...I want you to BEG for this lemonade! *Drip, drip, drop* (in my Juvia voice) Mwah, ha, haaaaaaaaa! :D (Oops...sorry...some of my kink is showing...)**

 **Anyway, I'm sure you already noticed this, but let me** _ **officially**_ **add one more thing to the list of things that you WON'T find in this story:**

 ***** _ **AN OVERLY-WEAK ASS LUCY.**_ **I mean, YEAH she can be weak at times (I STILL need this chick to learn how to fight in real life)...but in some fics I've read...it's gotten** _ **beyond**_ **ridiculous.**

 **Well, no worries here. I believe in realistic, believable character development! Writing this story helps me to practice in doing just that, among working other writing muscles!**

 **I'm just happy that you're all along for the ride with me! Thanks to everyone who commented, favorited and/or followed me and the story! I appreciate you all! You know what this feels like to me? When I started getting email notifications of people adding me to their Fav Authors, Fav Stories, Story Alert, etc...I IMMEDIATELY visualized a movie theater where everyone files in and settles down into their seats. Everyone is sitting and waiting for the movie to start, hoping that they're about to get their money's worth. YES. That's EXACTLY what I saw lol. So again, THANK YOU!**

 **Oh, and - Fairy Rains- no offense taken! I'm actually HYPE that you're reading my story! I've fallen head-over-heels for YOUR story myself! Lol.**

 **CHAPTER TWO will be up NEXT WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15th, 2016!**


	3. Righteous RAGE, Fiery BLAZE

**Author's Note:** **IT'S FINALLY HERE, CHAPTER TWO! I apologize for such a long wait through the day, you guys. I wanted to make this chapter as perfect as I possibly could to satiate your curiosity because I know Chapter One was a bit on the short side. Not to mention, my Internet was being disrespectful-but I could NEVER let you guys down! Better later (on the same day) than NEVER, right? Well, ENJOY!**

 **Disclaimer:** **FAIRY TAIL, all characters, likenesses and related indicia are owned by Hiro Mashima, Del Ray Manga, Kodansha, Weekly Shonen Magazine, Madman Entertainment, TV Tokyo and FUNimation. Enjoy this FICTIONAL, FAN-WRITTEN story, but please also go support the official release. :)**

*FEARI*

It was another bright, early morning at the Fairy Tail guild. Natsu and Gray were bickering like little children as usual.

"Oi, Ice Princess! What the hell'd ya do that for?" Natsu yelled, jabbing an accusing finger into the Ice Mage's chest. "You stole my breakfast!"

"Why would I ever want any of _your_ disgusting burnt food, Flame Brain?" Gray shot back. "That's what you get for leaving half-eaten plates lying around!"

Juvia lurked quietly in the corner behind one of the stone pillars. She wondered why Gray wouldn't give her as much attention as he always gave to Natsu.

 _Wait! Maybe it's because-_ Natsu _is my Love Rival, too!_ Juvia thought as she worked herself up into a silent panic. The next thing Juvia knew, she found herself clawing and chomping hysterically on the side of her hiding place.

Finally, Natsu and Gray came to blows and the entire guild hall shook all the way down to its foundation. Gray landed a particularly nasty punch to Natsu's jaw and sent him flying across the guild hall and crashing into the table where one Erza Scarlet sat. Erza, who was trying to enjoy a slice of strawberry shortcake in peace had just pressed her fork into the little strawberry on top, when she glanced up and jumped out of her seat. She barely missed being hit as Natsu whizzed by, taking the entire table with him. Unfortunately, her cake also went with the flying mage and furniture.

A loud, crisp _SHHHIIIIIIIIINNNNG!_ rang out above the rowdiness of the hall as Erza angrily drew her sword. "MY BEAUTIFUL DESSERT! I WILL AVENGE YOU!" She rounded on the two brawling wizards, her wide eyes ablaze with rage. "You're DEAD."

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Both Gray and Natsu screamed in horror and their dispute ended as quickly as it began. Fortunately for everyone in the hall (especially Gray, who was the cause of the dessert's untimely end) Mirajane, the beautiful barmaid of the guild, had another slice of strawberry cake stashed away especially for Erza should these exact situations arise.

Natsu, who actually cherished his life, nervously eyed Erza's sharp glinting blade and opted to sidle away to the back of the hall rather than retaliate against ol' Droopy Eyes; he'd settle things with _him_ later. And with that, Natsu ended up wandering over to Lucy, who sat alone at their usual table.

"Hey, Lucy!" Natsu greeted her cheerfully as he flopped down into the seat across from her.

Lucy, who managed to tune out everything and everyone around her, barely noticed Natsu's presence. She was too busy staring down at her untouched breakfast; this wasn't lost on Natsu.

"Say...what's the matter?"

Lucy finally looked up and smiled sadly at the concerned look on her best friend's face. "Oh...hey, Natsu. Nothing's wrong...I was just thinking, that's all."

"Thinking about what?"

"Oh! Um..." Lucy scrabbled around inside her mind for a quick excuse, "A new story I'm working on," she finished with a half-lie. It was true that Lucy had a new story in the works on her writing desk back at her apartment but that wasn't what was on her mind at the moment. She was still thinking about last night, when she woke up to find Loke's worried stare aimed her way. She thought about how long it took to even convince him to _leave_ , assuring him that she was okay and that she would just take a bath and go to bed.

After an episode of pouting, unnecessary touching to "check Lucy to make sure she was okay," and fifteen declined offers to join her in the tub, Loke finally _did_ leave.

But what annoyed Lucy the most was the memory of Loke's look of what strongly resembled _pity_. She _hated_ to be on the receiving end of looks like that. She used to get stares of pity _all the time_ from the servants back at the Heartfilia Estate when she was little. It made Lucy feel like _they_ thought she was weak.

"Oh, okay," Natsu replied as he scratched his head and squinted at Lucy, still not sure if he was convinced or not. He felt like he noticed a change in her recently, but couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. Rather than strain his brain and press the issue any further, another idea hit him.

"Hey, I've got a great idea!"

Lucy stared at Natsu, full of curiosity. "What is it?"

"Let's go out on a job together! You, me and Happy! What d'ya say? Maybe _that'll_ cheer you up!"

"Natsu, I already _told_ you that nothing is wro-"

"C'mon!" Natsu exclaimed, cutting Lucy off as he grabbed her wrist, yanked her out of her seat and bounded over to the job board with her. "You can even pick the job!"

Lucy sighed in exasperation as Natsu beamed at her, his dark eyes lit with excitement. Even Happy managed to appear out of the blue with an equally excited expression. She had every intention of turning them down because she figured that she ought to take a break from jobs for a bit so that she could continue to recover from her intense training yesterday, but...As Natsu stared expectantly at her, Lucy quickly pushed that thought aside.

 _I can't say no to that face,_ she thought, slightly amused. _Now that I think about it, this is the_ perfect _chance for me to put this two weeks' worth of training to the test!_

Finally, Lucy replied. "Fine, Natsu."

Natsu released Lucy's wrist and she turned to look at the job board. Not at all to her surprise, Nab stood to her left staring just as intently at the board. "Hey, Nab. Find the perfect job yet?"

A solemn "No," was all Lucy got from the towering mage.

"Uh, o-okay..." Lucy continued to browse the board in search for something nice and challenging but nothing caught her interest. Nothing, that is, until-

"Hm, this one looks interesting," she said as she pulled the thumbtack out of one of the flyers. Featured on the flyer was a large black-and-white picture of a muscular, dark-haired man with shifty eyes and a deep menacing scowl. Natsu leaned in to read along with Lucy. Happy, who was in the air, dropped down a bit and hovered over Lucy's shoulder.

 **PLEASE HELP US!**

 **Request By: Artullus Mange of Vervain**

 **ARCAYNE LAVEY, THE MASTER OF THE FALLEN DARK GUILD** _ **DEVIL'S HORN**_ **HAS ESCAPED PRISON!**

 **LaVey has stolen our town's sacred artifact, the Fiat Lux Stone!**

 **With the Stone, LaVey has resurrected an extinct race of lizard trolls and he's controlling them to wreak havoc over all the neighboring towns!**

 **WIZARDS, PLEASE KILL THE LIZARD TROLLS, CAPTURE LAVEY AND SAFELY RETURN THE FIAT LUX STONE!**

 **[REWARD: 10,000,000 J]**

"Whooooooa," Happy said. "Well, what on earth are lizard trolls?"

"I don't know," Lucy replied honestly. "I've never heard of them myself."

"Well, there's only _one_ way to find out!" Natsu exclaimed, slamming a flaming fist into his palm. "Stolen artichokes? Unknown monsters? _Loads_ of Jewel to buy FOOD with?! I'M ALL FIRED UP NOW!"

The salmon-haired boy that stood before Lucy was practically salivating onto her shoulder. "Great choice, Lucy!"

"That's _artifacts,_ Dragon Breath," Gray said, walking up behind Natsu. "And don't tell me you guys were tryna slip out the door on a job without _us?_ " He gestured over to Erza, who now sat at the bar squealing in delight as she consumed her third slice of cake.

"What did you say, you pervy stripper?!"

"Don't you two start again! We're about to leave, come on!" Lucy yelled. She really did _not_ need these two clashing and ruining yet another chance at earning a job reward.

She made her way over to the bar with the flyer for Mira's approval. Mira stood behind the bar looking as bright, beautiful and cheerful as she always did. She was cleaning a wooden tankard as she chatted with her little sister, Lisanna.

"Hey, Mira. Hey, Lisanna," said Lucy as handed the paper over to Mira. "Here's a job we want to do today."

Mira quickly scanned the page. When her eyes reached the bottom, her eyebrows raised full of intrigue. "Wooow, this is quite the mission you picked, Lucy. You must really need the rent money, huh?"

"Yeah, you can say that...and Natsu here needs the _food_ money," Lucy replied with a smile. "Then maybe he'd stop raiding _my_ fridge for a while." She briefly glanced over at Natsu who was talking to Lisanna.

"Hey, Lisanna...we're about to go out on a job for a bit, but I'll be back soon okay?"

Lisanna turned her kind, wide blue eyes up at Natsu and wrapped her arms around his neck. She raised herself slightly on tiptoe and gave Natsu a light kiss on the lips with a smile.

"Okay, just be careful and try to not _totally_ destroy any towns or landscapes."

Nastsu grinned sheepishly and reached a hand to tuck a stray lock of snow-white hair behind Lisanna's ear. "Aw, come on, Lisanna! It's _me_ you're talkin' to!"

Lucy's eyes narrowed a little and she felt an unpleasant serpentine sensation in her gut as she watched the exchange between the two. She had to quickly catch herself before anyone else noticed her strange reaction, _especially Mira._ Just to be sure, Lucy chanced a glance back over at Mira, who was re-reading the flyer. _Whew._

At that moment, Lucy's eyes locked with Mira's as she looked up again. The barmaid said nothing more, but simply gave a small smile that almost resembled a smirk.

"Okay, Lucy. You're good to go!"

"Great!" Lucy replied with forced cheerfulness, still trying to shake off her annoyance. _What's the big deal? Why do I feel like this?_

Lucy looked around for the rest of the team. Erza, who overheard the entire exchange, had already finished off her cake and stood outside waiting with her routine excess luggage in tow. Lucy spotted Gray in the middle of the hall trying desperately to escape Juvia's cluctches.

"J-Juvia! Would you let me go?!"

"Oh, my darling Gray! Why can't you just stay with me so we can get started on our thirty-three babies?"

"THIRTY-THREE BABIES?! WHERE'D YOU GET THAT CRAZY ASS NUMBER?!"

Once Natsu let Lisanna go, he rounded on Gray and Juvia and snapped, "Oi, Droopy Eyes! Stop with all the lovey-dovey crap and let's go!"

Gray whirled around (the best he could with Juvia still clinging to him) to face Natsu and blurted out, "Wait a minute, Pyro-freak! _You_ get to be all lovey-dovey with _your_ girlfriend, but _I_ can't do the same with _mine?"_

Everyone gasped in unison and the entire guild fell silent-even _Natsu._

Lucy's eyes almost popped out of her head from them widening so fast. _Wait,_ what _did he just say?!_

Juvia's mouth fell open and she released Gray in absolute shock as she stumbled a half-step backward. "G-Gray, my _darling_...you...you _finally_ acknowledge _me_ as your _ONE TRUE LOVE?!"_ Before anyone could do or say anything else, Juvia dramatically flung her arm across her forehead in a swoon and fainted.

After a beat, the guild hall erupted with laughter. Gray's face quickly went from pink to red to maroon and he weakly yelled, "Hey! That's _not_ what I meant to say!"

"Oooooo, he loooooooooooooovvvvvveees her!" Happy's mocking voice chimed in above the roaring laughter. Gray, feeling defeated and humiliated clamped his mouth tightly shut and took his chance to shuffle awkwardly out the door.

...

It took three days for Team Natsu to get to Vervain. Once in town, it didn't take very long for the young wizards to track down the lizard trolls; they simply followed the path of destruction.

"It was horrible!" One of Vervain's citizens recounted to them. "I've never seen anything like it in my entire life! At first I thought they were _dragons_ , but I shook that silly thought from my mind. All the dragons are gone!"

"They were gigantic!" Came another citizen's account. "Taller than our tallest building! They were this sickly green color-and they smelled like all of hell broke loose with the bubble guts!"

Lucy wrinkled her nose at that acrid description; she was having second thoughts about this job already.

The team had already spoken to the mayor, Artullus Mange, who was just as panicked as the rest of the citizens. They reassured him that they'd get the job done and without hesitation, they followed the ruins of all the destroyed houses and storefronts.

After some time walking, the mages were led to the edge of a forest.

"Man, does _every_ job _have_ to end up leading to a forest?" Happy wondered aloud as the group marched forward through the branches and bramble. "I hope there's a river in there so I can catch some fish!"

"Stop worrying about stuffing your face and focus on the job!" Lucy barked.

"Alright, sheesh! No need to get snappy with _me!"_ Happy retorted. Then he added, "I personally think you're still on edge from all that trai-"

"RRROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!"

At that moment, a series of thunderous roars and snarls echoed through the forest. Deep, rhythmic quakes shook the ground beneath everyone's feet, throwing them off balance.

Erza was the first to regain her footing. "That sounds like _footsteps!"_

As if on cue for a grand entrance, a large, taloned claw swiped through a gathering of trees, ripping them up from their roots, nearly misssing the five wizards. Split seconds later, Lucy, Natsu, Gray, Erza and Happy were all staring up at four giant reptilian creatures. They all had sickly, greenish-gray scales that were oozing some sort of yellowish muck from their jaws and claws. Oddly enough, the creatures also appeared to have tufts of fur around their necks, the back of their knuckles and down the center of their spines. Then came the stomach-turning odor the townspeople warned them about.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Everyone screamed, leaping back up from the ground.

"Ughhhh-these are some _ugly_ beasts! Nothing _that_ hideous should exist-no wonder they went extinct!" Natsu yelled as he slammed his fists together to summon his flames and jumped right into action. Natsu sprinted straight for the lizard troll in front.

"FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!" Once Natsu gained his desired momentum, he leapt into the air and shot forward until his fiery fist connected with the creature's oozing jaw.

Seeing Natsu charge forward made Gray and Erza quickly follow suit.

"ICE MAKE: HAMMER!"

"REQUIP!"

Lucy stood rooted on the spot as she watched for a few seconds; it wasn't lost on her that there was a creature for each one of them to fight. Despite her determination during her secret trainings, Lucy still couldn't help the tremble that found its way to her knees; and the stench from those creatures wasn't very encouraging, either. Was this a coincidence?

"Who cares _what_ it is," Lucy muttered to herself as quickly dismissed her fear and forced her legs to stop quaking. "No excuses, _now's_ my chance!"

Lucy reached towards her hip for her Spirit Gate Keys when she spotted isolated movement off to the right behind her battling friends near another group of trees that had yet to be destroyed. _What the-_

Shifty eyes, dark hair, a twisted smile instead of a scowl-

It was him! It was Arcayne LaVey, the Dark Mage!

Without a second thought Lucy bounded forward.

"There's LaVey! There he is! He's getting away! I've got him, you guys!

Natsu, in the heat of battle turned around just in time to see a blonde head disappear into the trees as Lucy raced off. "Lucy, wait!"

Distracted, Natsu barely registered Happy's shrill cry, "NATSU, WATCH OUT!"

By the time the fire mage turned back around he was hit with a force so powerful that it sent Natsu flying and crashing _through_ several oak trees and into a gigantic boulder, where it crumbled to jagged rocks that came crashing down on him.

"NATSUUUUUUUU!" Erza cried as she fiercely dodged an attack and sent her Heaven's Wheel shooting forward towards the lizard troll she fought. The powerful blades ripped through the beast, where it exploded into a brief raining down of ooze, scales, fur and other unmentionable parts.

...

 _I've gotta catch up to him! I_ can't _let him get away! I_ can't _let the team down!_ Lucy thought frantically to herself as she chased after the Dark Mage. The wild chase led out of the forest and right back into town. Lucy huffed and puffed as she willed her legs to move faster and faster, keeping in mind to not stumble on the uneven cobblestone road.

LaVey suddenly made a right turn down a dark alleyway. The back of LaVey's head grew closer as Lucy managed to catch up with him. He glanced over his shoulder and cackled coldly, "You'll never catch _me_ , little fairy girl!" And with that he held out his right hand behind himself and sent a blast of purple light careening her way.

"Oh yeah?" Lucy huffed out as she grabbed her whip from her belt. "We'll see about that!" When she saw the purple magic blast rocketing straight for her face, Lucy squealed and dodged out of the way of full-body harm just in the nick of time, but not without the spell grazing her left upper arm and shoulder.

"Arrraaghhhhh!" Lucy cried out as she fell into a hard stumble and landed on the ground. Still gripping her whip in her right hand, Lucy frantically scrambled to her feet and resumed the chase, wincing in pain from her injury. _Jeez, how long_ is _this alley?!_

A few moments later she caught back up to LaVey. She flung back her arm and cracked her whip at an extreme angle; the thin leather caught itself around LaVey's left leg where it wrapped tightly. Lucy yanked sharply on her whip handle, tripping him up.

LaVey appeared to be completely caught off guard, which was made even clearer when he fell face-down to the ground with a resounding _SMACK!_

"You're not going _anywhere!_ " Lucy yelled as she finally stopped and looked down at LaVey crumpled on the ground. She didn't notice that the Fiat Lux Stone, in fact, slipped from LaVey's clutches and slid some distance away. "Give back what you stole!"

Just as Lucy reached towards her hip again for her Keys, LaVey suddenly sprang up to his feet in front of her.

"You little BITCH!" He snarled as he caught Lucy by surprise and backhanded her in the face.

"Arrraahhhh!" Lucy stumbled back and grabbed her stinging face in shock. LaVey took his chance to barrel into Lucy, flip her over his shoulder and slam her down to the ground.

Lucy screamed out in pain and dropped her whip as the jagged ground dug into her back.

"L-let-me-GO!"

LaVey squeezed Lucy's wrists tightly in his grip, intentionally causing her more pain. The weight of his larger frame bore down heavily on her, almost stealing all the air from her lungs.

"You're nothing but a weak little fairy bitch," LaVey snarled through his clenched teeth in a voice no louder than a rough whisper. "I know all about you, Blondie, _and_ your poor excuse of a wizard guild, _Fairy Tail._ I know all about how _you're_ the one everyone always has to save. You're a fraud. You're no wizard-just a _little girl_ trying to act like a _grown woman_."

LaVey's hands squeezed on Lucy's wrists even tighter the more she struggled to break free.

"You know what I think?" LaVey asked as he lowered his face closer to Lucy's. "I think you should do yourself a favor and stick to _man service_." **(A/N: A play on the popular term, "fan service," just so you know).**

 _Wait! What is he saying?!_

Lucy quickly got her answer when she saw LaVey lick his lips suggestively. His cruel, mocking statements continued to ring through her head as he bent his head down further to kiss Lucy on her neck.

 _"Weak fairy bitch..._ you're _the one everyone always has to save...you're no wizard...fairy bitch...weak little fairy bitch..."_

At that point, something inside of Lucy snapped. Rage, fear, and distress took over her senses because the next thing the young blonde knew, she stopped struggling and rested her head on the ground; an action which seemed to please LaVey.

"Mmm...so you _do_ listen. See? Was that so hard?" Before LaVey could carry his taunting on any further, he looked back down at Lucy just in time to see her head flying towards his face. Lucy headbutted the evil mage as hard as she could, which surprisingly, sent him falling backwards away from her with a startled grunt.

She scrambled to her feet as fast as she could, feeling a little dizzy from her brash action. After she cleared the small spots of light from her sight, Lucy braced herself and swung her right leg as far back as it could go.

"LUCY KICK!" She swung her leg forward as hard as she could and smirked darkly with satisfaction when it made connection with LaVey's family jewels.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Still boiling with rage over what the evil mage said to her, Lucy found herself flopping down on top of LaVey. She balled her hands into tight fists, grit her teeth and without another word she began to pummel her enemy's face into the ground.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" a visceral scream ripped through the atmosphere, but it took Lucy a minute or so to realize that it was _her_ that made that sound. She was beyond her own control; with each punch, Lucy released all of her hurt, anger, jealousy, rage about being considered weak-she let it all go straight for her target: Arcayne LaVey's face.

"LUCY!"

Lucy didn't hear Natsu call out her name. He and the rest of the team raced down the alleyway towards the Celestial wizard and their enemy. They were all immediately taken aback by what was unfolding before them: A husky, powerful Dark Mage howling in unimaginable pain while a small blonde straddled him and beat his face into the dirt.

"Lucy! Lucy! That's enough!" Erza sprang forward and pulled Lucy off of LaVey, but Lucy continued to swing her legs and fists wildly in the air. Natsu's expression instantly darkened at the sight of Lucy flailing around that way. His own rage reignited, Natsu blazed a hot trail over to LaVey and picked up where Lucy left off.

"WHERE'S THE ARTIFACT?! AND WHAT DID YOU DO TO LUCY?!"

LaVey, weakened and no longer had any trace of his wits about him, did nothing but whimper through a quickly swelling and bruising face. This only pissed Natsu off even more.

What started as a low growl in his throat, Natsu's entire body burst into flames as he quickly crescendoed to a, "FIRE DRAGON BRILLIANT FLAAAAAAAAAAAMMME!"

"ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" was the last word everyone heard from LaVey, because right after he was burned to a smoking crisp, Gray leaped forward to follow up after Natsu.

"ICE MAKE-" No words came from Gray's mouth as he instead whipped his arms in slashing motions at LaVey. Before anyone could blink, Arcayne LaVey, the Dark Mage from the Fallen dark wizard guild Devil's Horn, was charred, frozen, and dead.

...

The trip back home to Magnolia was a little awkward. Nobody knew how to react or what to say about Lucy's violent counterassault that they witnessed, so everyone silently opted to say nothing. But _clearly something_ was going on with Lucy because she barely batted an eyelash at the fact that they all had 2.5 million Jewel each.

During the second night on their way back, Erza quietly pulled the boys aside and suggested that they all just leave Lucy alone for the time being. Gray simply shrugged it off, but still chanced a curious glance over at Lucy's tent, where she had slipped off into about an hour or so ago.

Happy gave a small, "Aye, sir!"

Natsu only nodded and sat with his arms crossed as he stared blankly into the campfire. For the first time in a long time, he was at a loss for words. He couldn't believe his eyes; all Natsu kept seeing was Lucy sitting on top of LaVey and the almost-blurs of her small fists as she put as much force behind each punch that she could muster.

He felt a strange sensation rising inside of him from the pit of his gut, but he couldn't quite place what emotion it was. Natsu knew for a fact that he was _shocked_ , _proud_ and-

Natsu's eyes widened in surprise as he finally indentified what this other mysterious emotion was.

 _Aroused._

...

By nightfall, the wizards of Fairy Tail all welcomed Team Natsu back with open arms and rowdy cheers.

"AYYYYYYYYYY, they're back!"

"Welcome back, you guys!"

"Congratulations on the successful job!"

"So how was it?"

"Drinks all around for everyone!" Mira squealed with joy.

In no time, everyone was gathered around Natsu as he gave the exciting blow-by-blow of what happened on their job.

"Yeah, we sent those old fossils right back to the grave where they belong!" Natsu bellowed swinging his fists wildly in a demonstration of his fighting moves. "BUT YOU ALL SHOULD'VE SEEN LUCY! SHE WAS REALLY KICKIN' SOME ASS!" Natsu screeched, his voice reaching a brand-new decibel as the adrenaline raced through his body as he recounted how he and the team found her beating the dark mage to a bloody pulp.

"WOW! Lucy's manliness is OVER NINE THOOOUUUSSAANNNNDD!" Elfman roared over everyone's chatter, full of masculine pride.

Everyone stopped, fell silent and stared quizzically at Elfman.

"What the hell does that even _mean?"_ Gray asked huffily.

"Oh, I dunno," Elfman replied, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "It just felt really manly to say."

An awkward silence ensued.

"Wow...that doesn't sound like Lucy at all!" Wendy said taken aback, resuming the conversation, but her voice was still filled with admiration.

"Hm, it seems to me like Natsu is _finally_ rubbing off on Lucy," Mira spoke up as she smirked conspiringly in his direction and walked back over to the bar to refill tankards.

Natsu flushed and ignored Mira's remark, grateful that Lisanna wasn't there at the moment.

"Speaking of which, where _is_ Lucy?" Levy asked, glancing around the hall. In the midst of the excitement, feasting and celebration, it just dawned on everyone that Lucy wasn't with Natsu, Happy, Gray, and Erza.

"Ah, yes," said Erza. "She insisted on going straight home. We figured that she must still be worn out from the battle and the travel back. We all sustained some injuries. So we'll just let her be for now."

Natsu suddenly stood up and stretched, yawning a bit harder than was necessary. "I think I'm just gonna head home, you guys. I need to put this reward money away in me and Happy's safe place."

"Alright then. Good night, Natsu! Good night, Happy!"

...

 _Maybe I should go and check on Lucy,_ Natsu thought to himself as he made his way home with Happy flying quietly alongside him. He paused and considered changing direction to head to Lucy's place. At that moment, Erza's stern face and words came to mind.

 _"Let's just leave her alone for now. She needs to rest up from battle in her own way."_

And with that, Natsu changed his mind and continued on home.

...

Once Natsu and Happy were home and their reward money was tucked away in their hiding place, Happy flew over to his dark little corner and almost instantly fell asleep the moment his head hit his curled up paws.

Natsu, feeling a little drowsy himself, clambered into his hammock where he thought sleep would take him over the same way it did Happy.

It didn't.

Images of the Vervain mission kept playing over and over again inside Natsu's mind. He was extremely pleased about the success of the mission, and even _more_ pleased about the fact that he and Happy now had a nice chunk of food money that would last them for at least a little while. Despite all this occupying his mind at one time, his thoughts kept drifting back to Lucy. There was _definitely_ something going on with her, but Natsu couldn't for the life of him and all the food he loved, figure it out-and _that_ got under his skin. Perhaps it got under his skin a little more than it _should_ have.

Natsu kept seeing snippets of Lucy play through his mind: _Lucy's blonde head vanishing into the cluster of trees as she raced off after LaVey...her fierce brown eyes sparking as she jumped into action...the way her small frame sat atop the larger evil one beneath her as her fists drilled into LaVey's face..._

Natsu slightly stuck his leg out and put his foot against the wall. Giving a gentle push, he began to slowly rock himself back and forth in the hammock as he continued to swim through his own mind.

Lucy really held her own on this mission. He always knew that Lucy was strong in her own way, but _this_ time was different. Natsu found this raw, raging side of Lucy to be quite... _sexy_...

 _Wait...SEXY?_

Natsu paused for a second and rolled the word around in his mind before he shrugged with a concluding smirk, _Yeah...SEXY._

Those fiery brown eyes continued to flash before his mind's eye...Lucy's golden hair shining in the sunlight; those big, bouncing, breasts that always strained against whatever top she wore...those tight, short skirts with her smooth, exposed thighs...that _whip_.

Natsu's heart rate picked up a little the more he allowed his mind to wander in this particular direction. Before he knew it, his left hand strayed over to the waistband of his pants, where it dipped down inside and sank to the massive stiffness between his legs.

Natsu's eyes fluttered shut as he curled his fingers around himself and slowly began to slide his hand up and down his own hardness.

"Mmfm..." He fought to suppress a moan as one of his eyes shot open and glanced over to make sure he didn't wake Happy on his side of the tiny house. Seeing that the cat continued to sleep peacefully with his back to Natsu, the fire mage was able to relax and shut his eye again as his hand continued to go to work.

Natsu rubbed, glided upon and stroked his length as the visions of Lucy became more persistent with each passing second. Natsu bit down on his bottom lip and almost drew blood as he picked up speed with the mounting sensation of pleasure.

In the lowest voice he could muster, Natsu let out a strangled whisper, "Lu...cyyy...mm..."

Natsu's mind spiraled away from the specifics of the Vervain mission and honed in on Lucy in general. He thought about the many times her voluptuous body was pressed up against his in times of both joy and despair-his hand pumped faster.

He thought about the times he managed to sneak into her apartment while she was in the bathroom and was greeted by a shocked towel-clad beauty, the almost-too-small towel hugging her every curve-his hand pumped faster.

He thought about how he got a major eyeful of Lucy's naked body on multiple occasions whenever she'd end up accidentally being exposed to him-his hand pumped even _faster._ Natsu felt a small bit of pre-cum ooze from his tip and dribble down to his fist.

FASTER.

FASTER.

FASTER.

 _FASTER!_

"Mmfhhn..." Natsu let another small moan escape his lips as he drew closer and closer to the edge of release. Just a little more-Natsu squeezed his penis tighter-almost there-almost-

His body began to arch upward from the hammock-

So close-so-

ALMOST-

Big, innocent blue eyes, a sweet smile and short pearly-white hair suddenly appeared in his thoughts.

 _Lisanna..._

Natsu snapped back to reality in an instant and as he tore his eyes back open, he became aware of his left hand. _What the hell am I doing?!_ His entire body was engulfed with sweat, embarrassment and guilt.

 _How can I think about LUCY that way? She's my best friend! How could I...? ESPECIALLY when I have LISANNA?_

Natsu laid in the dark, afraid to make even another move in that moment. After what seemed like an eternity, full of lust, guilt, and a host of other conflicting emotions, Natsu finally pulled his trembling, slightly sticky hand from inside his pants, turned over onto his side facing away from Happy and fell into an uneasy sleep.

*FEARI*

 **Author's Note:** **Ahhhh, we made it through to the end of CHAPTER TWO. So, what do you think? Was it worth the wait? ;) Tell me how you feel! Like it? Love it? Hate it? Drop a review! This chapter was so fun to write!**

 **For my fellow FT fangirls and fanboys, let me just say: Don't waste your time looking around on the Internet for anybody named Artullus Mange, Arcayne LaVey, the Fiat Lux Stone, the city of Vervain OR a dark guild called Devil's Horn. They don't exist. :P I simply chose names that I felt were worthy of Fairy Tail characters in the roles they have-a prestigious mayor and a dark wizard. Plus, I decided for the made-up city Vervain, I'd stick to the plants/flowers theme of Fiore.**

 **Also, if anybody is a nerd (or even a BLERD) like me, then you'll have realized what I did when Elfman said "It's over NINE THOUSAAANNNNDDD!"**

 **Well, just in case you DON'T get it, let me explain.**

 **That wasn't just a randomly-placed Dragon Ball Z joke. The original exclamation "It's over 9000!" was by Vegeta, who was voiced by Christopher Sabat in the English dub of DBZ. Christopher is also the voice actor of Elfman in the Fairy Tail English dub...get it? ;)**

 **(Oh, and before anybody tries to get all technical and say that the ORIGINAL-original voice of Vegeta was Brian Drummond-DON'T. I already know that too). :P**

 **Once again, thank you for all the feedback and support you've been showing me so far!**

 **Now then...Natsu and his nightly playtime...what is all this about?**

 **And what's more, what's up with this NaLi ish? Isn't this fic supposed to be NALU?**

 **Indeed, it IS... :) Mwah, ha, haaaaaaaaaaaa...**

 **CHAPTER THREE will be up NEXT WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22ND, 2016!**


	4. Natsu: AWOL & Off the Wall

**Disclaimer:** **FAIRY TAIL, all characters, likenesses and related indicia are owned by Hiro Mashima, Del Ray Manga, Kodansha, Weekly Shonen Magazine, Madman Entertainment, TV Tokyo and FUNimation. Enjoy this FICTIONAL, FAN-WRITTEN story, but please also go support the official release. :)**

*FEARI*

 _Monday, New Moon._

 _..._

 _A long, black cloak billowed out behind a tall, shadowy figure as it made its way down a dimly-lit street...two golden slits of light shone through the darkness...a thick, long, almost snake-like tongue slid lazily across the surface of exposed, trembling, delicate pale skin...a flash of sharp fangs roughly pierced the delicate skin...deep gutteral moans and a shrill cry of pain rang out into the night..._

"Carla? _Carla?!_ Are you okay?"

The small white cat jerked out of her trance with a start and blinked a few times, looking around. She found Wendy staring at her with a look of concern.

"Carla, is something the matter?"

"Uh-er, no, nothing's wrong," Carla sputtered out quickly. "Excuse me." She hopped down from the soft, lilac cushion she was perched upon and made her way to find a spot where she could be alone without being disturbed.

Wendy stared after her guardian, at a loss for words.

Carla tried to hold on to as much detail of what she saw as possible. It had been quite a while since she had a vision of the future, but just like always, images only came to her in bits and pieces.

 _The fact that I'm having visions again is not at all a good sign,_ Carla thought as she sprang into the air and landed daintily on the windowsill. Small white wings appeared on the Exceed's back and she swiftly took to the sky. While she flew, Carla furrowed her brow pensively.

 _Why am I having visions_ now? _What does this all mean?_

...

After taking two full days off to recuperate at home from the Vervain mission, by Tuesday, Lucy strolled back into the Fairy Tail guild hall feeling refreshed and full of renewed resolve. While she rested at home, Lucy reflected on the successful job and the way the team worked together to claim their victory. She felt extremely proud of herself for the fact that she managed to show LaVey a thing or two in that shadowy alleyway...but his cruel words still affected her.

 _I have to keep pushing, and keep pushing_ harder _,_ Lucy thought brusquely as she strode across the loud, busy guild hall. She looked all around for any signs of salmon-colored hair, flying flames and a screeching "Oi, Ice Princess!" but Natsu was nowhere to be found.

"That's weird," Lucy muttered to herself as her eyes scanned the hall over and over again. "I wonder where he is..."

She spent a few minutes asking everyone if they saw Natsu, but their answers were all the same: "No, I haven't seen Natsu around."

Lucy huffed out an impatient breath, making her bangs briefly flutter up from her forehead. _What a fine time to disappear on me, Natsu..._

Lucy's original plan of action was to return to Fairy Tail and grab Natsu so they could go out on another job together, but with no luck in finding him, she simply headed over to the job board alone.

As she silently browsed the colorful request flyers, Lucy decided to herself, _Maybe it's best that Natsu isn't here. I'll just do a solo job instead!_

She perused the board a few more minutes before she finally found the perfect job for her first solo trip: clearing out an infestation of Shadow gremlins from an elderly wizard's attic and basement for 80,000 Jewel. It was challenging, yes, but not _so_ challenging that she couldn't get it done on her own.

Lucy grabbed the flyer and headed over to the bar once again for Mira's approval. After the job was approved, she asked the barmaid, "Hey Mira...have you seen Natsu around?"

"Sorry, Lucy, I haven't. Actually," Mira added as she thoughtfully placed an index finger on her chin, "I haven't seen Natsu since you all came back from your job in Vervain."

"Huh? _Really?"_ This struck Lucy as strange, especially since she hadn't even seen Natsu creeping around or barging into _her_ place. Lucy tried to prevent her expression from showing too much concern, lest she cause Mira's ridiculous Shipping Senses to start tingling.

 _Maybe I'll just swing over to Natsu's place when I come back from this job._

...

Lucy made it back from her job victorious, 80,000 Jewel richer and just before sunset. With the remaining light of the day, she made her way (with some difficulty) over to Natsu's tiny cottage in the forest.

Lucy already felt exhausted from the day's arduous work of clearing out fiesty and evil Shadow gremlins, so she was filled with much relief once the lush, green path she followed gave way to a clearing and the familiar house came into view.

"Finally!" the Celestial Wizard exclaimed. With a new burst of energy, Lucy jogged up to Natsu's front door, gave a few short raps and waited.

A few moments passed and no one came to the door.

"Huh?"

Lucy knocked on the door again, a little harder this time.

Still no response.

Losing patience, Lucy gingerly approcached the closed vine-covered window at the side of the house and peered inside. "Natsu?"

But the inside of Natsu's place was completely dark and there was no sign of activity at all.

 _What the-? Well,_ where _could he_ be? Lucy's brow furrowed with worry at the fact that she couldn't find her best friend _and_ with annoyance at the fact that she now had to walk all the way back home practically in the dark. Lucy's energy drained from her body all over again at the thought.

 _This is so_ weird. _I just hope that Natsu's alright,_ wherever _he is._

...

Off in the distance from where the blonde wizard vanished back into the trees to start her long walk home, the missing mage in question lay spread-eagle inside a cluster of bushes, hidden from view. His body trembled uncontrollably and he heaved breaths in short gasps; his heartbeat raced triple-time and his body temperature sky-rocketed so high that it actually caused him to break out into a sweat.

"Argaahhhh-" a pained groan escaped his lips as his fingers clawed into the ground and ripped out small patches of grass.

Natsu had no idea what was happening to him.

This was the third "episode" Natsu had this week, but these attacks started so out of the blue, he didn't know what to think or what to do. Right now though, Natsu could do absolutely _nothing_ as deep waves of heated passion coursed through his veins.

A sudden light, gentle breeze blew past Natsu where he lay, and riding on that breeze was-

 _Her_ scent.

 _Lucy...?_

What was she doing around here?

He could feel his manhood instantly swell and strain against the fabric of his pants, but Natsu was unable to move to do anything about it outside of arching his back and twisting in agony. His mind splintered in many different directions as sensations of pain and desire rippled through his body.

Anger, passion, fire, lust, frustration, temptation, betrayal-

 _Lucy...!_

...

For the next two days Lucy entered Fairy Tail in the morning, scanned the place and found Natsu to be absent once again. This was getting ridiculous! Where was Natsu? He wasn't in the guild hall, he hadn't been coming to her place, he wasn't even at his _own_ house-it was like Natsu vanished off the face of the earth and no one seemed to even care about it one way or another!

Lucy sighed and her stomach coiled into nervous knots.

Please _be alright, Natsu..._

Lucy knew that he could take care of himself but...

Her panicked thoughts were interrupted when she spotted Happy at a small table off to the side talking to Carla and Pantherlily.

"Hey Happy, hey Carla, hey Lily," Lucy greeted them all as she neared their table. Three pairs of feline eyes turned to look up at her.

"Oh, hi Lucy," said Happy. He didn't sound quite like his usual cheerful, fish-crazed self. In fact, _none_ of the three Exceeds looked very cheerful: Happy's usually perky ears now drooped to the sides of his face, Carla sat and stared down at her folded paws with a perturbed expression written across her face, and Pantherlily stood silently on the tabletop with his arms crossed and his jaw hard-set.

"I-Is something wrong?" Lucy asked nervously. She was already on edge and didn't need anything else to add to her anxiety.

"No...no, it's nothing," Carla replied. With that, she turned, hopped down from the tabletop and walked away. Pantherlily followed suit, but Happy lingered behind looking a little hesitant.

"Happy..." Lucy started carefully. "Uh...have you seen Natsu around? I can't find him _anywhere_."

Lucy's breath caught in her throat when she saw Happy's eyes suddenly brimming with tears.

"No," Happy answered sadly. "But I'm really worried about him, Lucy!"

"What-? _Why?_ What's going on with him?" Lucy's pulse quickened against her will. She did _not_ like where this conversation was going.

"I don't know!" Happy squeaked miserably. "But he's just been acting weird lately."

"Well, he can't be acting any weirder than _usual_ , right?" Lucy joked in an attempt to alleviate their nerves, but Happy didn't take the bait.

"No Lucy, you don't understand...Natsu's been... _different."_

"Different? Different in what way?"

Happy fell silent and stared off into space as if looking for the right words.

"Well...he's hardly been home...he leaves early in the morning and comes back late at night. Every time I ask him where he's going or where he's been, he just says 'Out!' or 'With _Lisanna!'"_

Lucy's eyebrows raised in surprise at Happy's answer. "Oh, is _that_ all?" She replied, her voice full of relief, thankfully enough to mask her irritation. "Well, that sounds no different than when _you_ go running off with Carla!"

Happy blushed furiously. "Hey, that's _not_ the same thing! Natsu hasn't even been out on any jobs _all week!_ "

"Eh," Lucy shrugged, no longer worried. She was convinced that Happy merely exaggerated (like he exaggerated everything else in life) and she felt a little silly for almost falling into that same pit of fear. "Well, it's not like any of us actually _needs_ the money. That Vervain request gave us the option to take a break from going on jobs for a while. What's wrong with that?"

Before Happy could give one of his usual retorts, Lucy did something she'd never done before: she reached out her hand and gently caressed the little blue Exceed's head.

"Don't worry about Natsu," she said. She gave Happy an encouraging smile. "I'm sure he's fine. It's probably just Natsu being Natsu."

Without another word, Lucy turned and walked away from the table, out the guild hall doors and into the sunlight.

...

"Aw, c'mon! No one's around!"

" _No_ , Natsu! I'm _not_ here for that!"

Natsu was grinning devilishly down at the slender, fair-skinned beauty he had pinned down onto the blanket spread across the grass of one of Magnolia's beautiful, scenic parks. The two teenagers were having a picnic together in a more secluded area of the park where no one would stumble across them-Natsu made _sure_ of that.

He was feeling extremely horny lately-hornier than usual-and Natsu had been trying to get into Lisanna's panties all week. Spending this extra time with her all of sudden served two main purposes for Natsu: to avoid Lucy as much as he could (until his guilt about what he did as he thought of her vanished) and to channel this strong energy towards _Lisanna_ instead. But no matter how hard he tried, she rejected his every come-on, much to Natsu's total (sexual) frustration.

Natsu didn't even know _why_ he'd been feeling the way he felt lately-from the straying of his mind to dark, twisted fantasies; the "hot flash episodes" out in the deepest part of the forest at night while no one was around-the list of new, developing sensations went on and on.

None of that mattered though, because right _here,_ right _now-_

Natsu ran his fingers through Lisanna's soft white locks and pressed his body down against hers to keep her frame from bucking in protest. He nuzzled his face into her neck. Natsu's right hand found a way under Lisanna's short, pink skirt and his lithe fingers skimmed the waistband of her underwear while his left hand gripped both of her wrists.

He lowered his hand to caress that private spot, and to Natsu's pleasant surprise, he found the thin layer of fabric that separated Lisanna's womanhood from his digits had a damp spot that was quickly growing by the second.

Natsu's index finger found the print of a delicate bud beneath the fabric and pressed down on it.

Lisanna gasped and shivered beneath him. Natsu chuckled in a way that sounded foreign even to himself as he noted this reaction...he could _smell_ her reaction too.

"Yeah, yours lips say one thing...but _these_ lips say something totally different," said Natsu in a husky whisper. He started moving his finger in a circular motion. "C'mon, say you want it like I _know_ you do."

Lisanna moaned and arched her back as far as she could from beneath Natsu's weight and grip.

"N-Naaaaatsuuuu..."

Natsu pressed his finger down even harder as he continued to rub Lisanna's clit in a circular motion, eliciting more moans and sighs from the girl. "I said... _say you want it_."

Lisanna, whose eyes had briefly shut as she was taken over by raw pleasure, opened her eyes in response to the gruff, commanding voice she heard only to find an unusual expression on Natsu's face. It was an expression that sent chills down her spine and more moisture pooling between her legs against her will. Natsu smirked at Lisanna's obvious uncertainty and continued to rub circles until he was sure that she was taken over by enough pleasure where he could release her wrists in peace.

She had _never_ let him get this far before...maybe that meant...

Lisanna's arms limply dropped on either side of her as Natsu released them and dragged his body down below his girlfriend's waist. He pushed her knees apart and leveled his face right at Lisanna's lower region.

She continued to shiver with repressed pleasure as she felt Natsu's tongue skim the outside of her panties.

"N-Natsu-!" she panted.

Natsu ignored Lisanna and yanked her underwear to the side, revealing her wet, glistening vulva. "Now _this_ is what I call a picnic-" He licked his lips and lowered his face, ready to devour the juicy delight that was spread before him.

"Natsu, I said _stop!"_ Lisanna shrieked when she felt Natsu's breath pass over her entrance.

It wasn't until he felt the hot sting of a slap across the face that Natsu was broken out of his concentrated efforts. He sprang up to his feet from his position over Lisanna and released a wild, thunderous roar.

"Have you lost you fuckin' mind?!" Natsu boomed, his obsidian eyes ablaze with rage. Balling his fists, Natsu pushed up his left jacket sleeve and advanced upon Lisanna where she still lay on the blanket, scrambling to pull her skirt back down. He could hear the sound of his rushing blood in his ears, joined with the rustling leaves of trees and the erratic heartbeat of the Takeover wizard.

"Natsu, what's gotten into you?!" Lisanna cried, trembling when she saw Natsu draw back an open palm. Was he about to _hit_ her?

Lisanna curled herself up into a ball and threw her arms up in front of her face protectively.

Natsu stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of this and his chest continued to rise and fall with his rapid breaths. Something inside of him pushed through to his awareness. His eyes narrowed menacingly at the terrified girl that lay at his feet.

"You fuckin' _TEASE!"_ the fire mage snarled at the cowering female.

Then Natsu was gone in a flash.

Lisanna was left confused in the park, surrounded by a thicket of trees, where no one could see or hear her as she quietly cried.

...

Natsu streaked through trees, leaping from branch to branch in single bounds. The anger of the Fire Dragon Slayer roiled in this moment. Almost all of his self-control was frayed as a new wave of insatiable sexual longing snatched at his good senses.

Lisanna's dripping, wet vagina glistening in the sunlight appeared before Natsu's eyes, making his penis throb all the more painfully. But this vision was quickly replaced by Lisanna's blanched face and fear-striken eyes; this only further pissed off Natsu.

 _FUCK LISANNA!_ He snapped to himself, banishing her image from his mind's eye.

Well that was the thing-he wished he _could._

As Natsu jumped, swung and sprinted freely from tree to tree, from bush to ground, from dirt to cobblestone, he figured that he could always take care of things at home with Lefty, as he'd reluctantly become accustomed to lately.

A small thought then flitted through his mind and a new destination came to him-

Lucy's apartment.

...

High up in the mountains, outside of Magnolia, far away from any other living souls, there was a wide opening to a cave. At the mouth of this cave, a tall, muscular man with long, spiky black hair sat silently with crossed arms and legs. With eyes closed, the man meditated in deep thought. He had been sitting this way for quite some time.

The only sound that could be heard from this altitude was the whisper of the wind dancing on the haze of the early evening. The metal studs speckled across the Iron Dragon Slayer's face glinted in the warm, ebbing light of the sun.

At that very moment, he felt a high surge of energy ripple in the atmosphere. It was a _hot_ energy; it was a lustful and _fiery_ energy.

Gajeel opened his eyes and briefly surveyed the sunset on the horizon.

"Yep," he growled under his breath. "It's about that time."

*FEARI*

 **Author's Note:** **So, it looks like we're FINALLY sliding our way down the Fanfic Tone Gradient Scale (just made that up) from white...to gray...and soon to black. I've realized that it's about that time to pick up the pace and serve your kinky, fantasizing sides sooner rather than later. I don't want to tease you (or myself) into boredom. That's part of why this chapter is on the shorter side. This was just a** _ **taste**_ **of what's to come, but I can assure you, this is the LAST CHAPTER I use to ease our way into what you've all been waiting for. ;)**

 **Now then, I realize that days and moon phases are important to openly note in this tale rather than just in my private plot notes, so I shall serve you with a quick timeline to avoid any confusion:**

 _ **Story's Overall Timeline:**_

 _ **SUN: Lucy Trained (start of story)**_

 _ **MON-WED: Vervain Mission**_

 _ **THUR-SAT: Team Natsu's return to guild (arrived Sat. night)**_

 _ **SUN & MON: Lucy rested; Carla has her vision on MON (also a New Moon)**_

 _ **TUES-THUR: Natsu goes AWOL so Lucy has to go solo for the week**_

 _ **FRI: Natsu & Lisanna's picnic scene**_

 **Get it? Got it? GOOD.**

 **CHAPTER FOUR (in which we shall FINALLY plunge STRAIGHT into Darkness :D) will be up NEXT WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29TH, 2016!**


	5. Standing on the EDGE

**Author's Note:** **WE'RE OFFICIALLY BACK IN BUSINESS, YOU GUYS! After ALL the pain and strain of recent events with the downfall of my laptop amongst all the other drama brewing in my life –I have FINALLY managed to return! We're weathering this storm together and it's time to keep pushing forward! If you don't know what's been going on, just swing over to my profile and read the top half of my bio. I explain EVERYTHING there. But long story short, I had to write part of this chapter all over again because of my laptop situation. FORTUNATELY though, the small glimmer of light and hope came to me in the form of me remembering that I PHYSICALLY wrote the chapter and plot notes down in my actual notebook! YESSSSSSSSSSS! I must admit though…even though I rewrote and polished this chapter the best way I could, my mind just CANNOT fully recover from the fact that this just ISN'T as great as when I wrote it the first time around. That unreachable version was perfect in my eyes. Not to mention, I now have to completely work on my phone, which can be a bit uncomfortable and tedious. Oh well, shit happens. However, I most likely have to slow down my updates from weekly to…something less** _ **stressful**_ **. Lol. At least until this computer mess is resolved. Again, there's no need to worry, there's NO hiatus in sight! Just a slower pace in updates for now. Without further ado, I give you CHAPTER FOUR of "FALLEN."**

 **Disclaimer:** **FAIRY TAIL, all characters, likenesses and related indicia are owned by Hiro Mashima, Del Ray Manga, Kodansha, Weekly Shonen Magazine, Madman Entertainment, TV Tokyo and FUNimation. Enjoy this FICTIONAL, FAN-WRITTEN story, but please also go support the official release. :)**

*FEARI*

 _Friday, Nightfall._

Master Makarov silently paced the carpet of his office in the Fairy Tail guild hall. He threw an impatient glance up at the softly glowing golden clock on the wall every now and then. Makarov simply hated waiting; he _especially_ hated waiting under these kinds of circumstances. The wizened mage released an exasperated sigh and turned his gaze towards the office door.

 _Where the hell_ is _he?!_

As if right on cue, the door burst open and in strode the one Makarov was waiting for. His eyes narrowed as he fixed his heated glare on the tardy mage.

"You're _late,_ " Makarov huffed.

"Yeah, well I'm here _now,_ " the mage growled.

The tall, muscular man crossed the office where he flopped down into one of the two plush velvet armchairs in front of Makarov's desk. He kicked his heavy, black leather boot-clad feet up onto the desk, leaned back in the seat, folded his arms behind his head and waited expectantly.

Makarov scowled, closed the door, and clambered back up into his seat behind the desk. The two wizards stared at each other for a few moments before Makarov finally cleared his throat and spoke.

"I've called together this meeting because I have something important to tell you Dragon Slayers, but it's for _your_ ears only."

An iron-studded eyebrow raised quizzically.

"Then where's Salamander, ol' Lightning Rod and the pipsqueak?" Gajeel asked, glancing around the office for added effect.

"Laxus is too busy running around being a stubborn, arrogant pain-in-the-ass to listen to anything _I_ have to say," Makarov replied darkly. "Wendy isn't quite involved in this, and Natsu…well…I actually haven't seen _him_ around the guild hall lately. So while I'd have preferred to have you _all_ here, this one-on-one will have to do for now."

Gajeel grunted.

"Hm…speaking of Salamander…have you felt the shift of Energy in the air lately?"

Makarov nodded. "Yes, I _have_. I am well aware that the time for the Dragon Slayers' Change is coming soon. Is that your Energy I've been sensing, Gajeel?"

The iron mage shook his head.

"Even though _all_ the Slayers' Energy shifts and increases considerably during the change… _no_ , that's not me. That's _Salamander's_ Energy you sense."

Makarov's eyes widened slightly in surprise and he leaned forward, full of curiosity. "Is that so? And how do you know this for sure?"

Gajeel unfolded his arms from behind his head, dropped his feet from the desk and stretched his body long and hard in a lazy manner. "Because only Slayers can tell each other's scents and Energy signatures apart. This Energy I've been sensing is hot and _fiery_ …so it only makes sense that it _is_ Salamander."

"Ah, I see," Makarov replied, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Hm…" The guild master briefly looked away.

Gajeel watched Makarov closely before he posed his next question.

"So how much do you know about the Change anyway, old man?"

"Well, I know quite a bit seeing as my grandson and Natsu both grew up here in the guild," Makarov began. "I know that the Change is when a Dragon Slayer fully awakens to his or her True Power at the age of eighteen."

Gajeel nodded and chuckled quietly to himself. "Gi hi hi."

Makarov raised his eyebrow at Gajeel and eyed him suspiciously. "What's so funny?"

"Well, you're _definitely_ right about the reason for the Change, old man—but you're leaving out one pretty _big_ chunk that's kinda important."

"Oh? What's that?"

" _Mates."_

" _Mates?_ What do you m—?"

"Well, you know what _mating_ is, don't you?" Gajeel said impatiently. "Clearly you _do_ —otherwise old Ivan and Lightning Rod wouldn't be here."

Makarov was shocked into silence, and all he could do was stare at the smug look on Gajeel's face.

"Yeah, that's right. When we Dragon Slayers go through our Change—basically Dragon Slayer _puberty—_ we also go into HEAT."

Gajeel smirked and waggled his eyebrows deviously as a look of realization dawned on Master Makarov's face. "During this critical time in our lives, we're drawn to our one true mate, whoever they are, and we're supposed to do the deed and _mark_ them as _ours_ …"

He paused for a second then added, "I guess you can say it's our _very_ carnal way of getting married."

"What?! I've _never_ heard this information before in _all_ my years!" Makarov exclaimed. "Laxus never mentioned it—or Natsu!"

"Yeah, well, Dragon Slayer magic isn't the most thoroughly researched or understood," Gajeel replied.

Makarov nodded in agreement. "That's true…"

"Metalicana told me when I was about fourteen, that's how I know this much. So I'm tellin' ya right _now…"_

Gajeel leaned forward in his seat and lowered his voice to a deeper pitch, "If a Slayer takes _too long_ to find and mark his or her mate…things can get pretty _ugly_ for _everyone_."

Makarov didn't take too kindly to Gajeel's words, "What's _that_ supposed to mean, Gajeel? Some kind of thr—?"

"No, no, don't get me wrong!" Gajeel said quickly, waving off the inflated master. "I'm only stating _facts_. You don't know, so let me _tell_ you."

Gajeel waited Until Makarov visibly calmed down and stared intently at him before he continued. "Our Change is somehow aligned with the moon."

"The moon? In what way?"

"I'm not sure. I really don't know…Metalicana didn't go into detail about it…but I _do_ notice this: my Energy and Powers seem to be the most intense during the full moon and then everything normalizes at the new moon."

"Really?" Makarov began to stroke his chin again. "Well, there _is_ a full moon approaching. Do you think that's why Natsu hasn't been around much lately?"

" _Exactly_."

"I see. All the _more_ reason to tell you about the Dragon Slayer Sacred Rites of Passage."

Gajeel's face fell and he looked utterly dumbstruck. "The Dragon Slayer whatsy-WHO?!"

"The Dragon Slayer Sacred Rites of Passage," Makarov repeated patiently. "Given your reaction, it's safe to say that you've _never_ heard of this. Allow me to explain."

"Well, hurry up, old man, I've got more important things to do!" Gajeel grumbled angrily, trying and failing to mask his curiosity. Makarov ignored him.

"When Laxus went through his first Change, it was pretty uneventful for the most part—minus the extreme high-voltage electricity in the air, a quick temper and razor-tongue—but what _else_ is new?" He said sourly. "At one point though, he _did_ disappear for two weeks straight. When the boy decided to show his face again, he waltzed into the hall one day with this goofy, smug grin on his face."

Makarov's expression darkened as he reminisced on days passed.

Gajeel let out another loud "Gi hi hi" as he listened to Makarov's account of Laxus' Change—he already knew what Laxus was most likely up to during those two weeks. He silently wondered what poor girl (or _girls)_ were out there somewhere in the world now paralyzed from the waist down.

"And when _Natsu_ came along," Makarov went on, "Everyone just _knew_ that we were going to have our hands full by bringing him into Fairy Tail. But when we found out that he was a _Dragon Slayer_ —and a _fire_ one at that—it was then that I came up with the concept of the Rites of Passage: a sacred set of rituals and ceremonies designed to facilitate and give proper guidance to a Dragon Slayer, making his or her transition into full power easier. Namely, _Natsu._

It took some time to develop into something tangible _and_ pull it off, but I was eventually approved by the Magic Council. So now there's a specialized, private sect of wizard priests called the Grovs who oversee these rituals. The Rites take place far off in a secret, undisclosed location and they are to last for one full month."

"A _month?_ Sheesh," Gajeel fussed.

"The Grovs are the only ones who have extensive knowledge about Dragon Slayers," said Makarov, still ignoring Gajeel's outbursts.

"I must admit, I don't know if they know anything about the mating cycles you mentioned but…maybe they _do_ since their knowledge regarding Slayers far exceeds my own." Makarov hopped back down from his seat and began restlessly pacing the office once again.

"But a _month?_ " Gajeel pointed out again. "I mean, _how_ _much_ ritual crap can ya possibly _need_?!"

Makarov glowered at Gajeel but maintained his cool for the sake of the important conversation. "The truth is, Gajeel, I've never sent a Slayer to the Rites retreat before."

" _What?!"_ Gajeel exclaimed, snapping his head around to look at the guild master.

"Yes. By the time I came up with the idea for the Rites, Laxus had already gone through his first Change and Natsu was still just a child." Makarov walked back over to the iron mage stood right in front of him.

"But _now_ I want to collectively send you, Natsu and Laxus so you can all undergo your full power transitions the _right_ _way,_ especially since Natsu's eighteenth birthday recently passed."

Gajeel scoffed at this notion and jumped up from his seat. " _Forget_ _it_ , old man! If you think I'm tryna be stranded with _those_ two for an entire month, you've got another thing c—"

"Gripe about it all you want, Gajeel!" Makarov barked, cutting across him. "The Rites of Passage have been _mandated_ by the Council, so on my order—you _will_ go."

Gajeel scowled, dropped back down into his seat and watched Makarov turn his back on him as he sat at his desk again and shuffled through a pile of paperwork. He sighed gruffly. "Well when's this little vacation of ours supposed to happen, anyway?"

"I'm making plans on exactly how this will be executed right now," Makarov replied. "Once I finish with all the details, I'll let you know. But for now, I need you to do something for me."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"Find a way to bring Natsu back to the guild since he hasn't been around. I'll work on Laxus in the meantime. We must do this without raising any suspicion from everyone else. The sooner you three are _all_ on the same page, the _better_.

Gajeel folded his arms across his chest. "Fine," he grudgingly agreed. "But don't expect me to go looking for the little hothead. That's not my style. I'll just wait until he shows up here again on his own, then I'll pull him aside."

"What?!" Makarov snapped. "There's no _telling_ how long that would take! How do you even know _when_ Natsu will be back?"

The Iron Dragon Slayer grinned darkly, his face studs and sharp canines glinting in the soft glow of Makarov's desk lamp. "Oh, trust me, old man. Salamander'll be back _sooner_ than you _think_."

…

Natsu crouched down low and catlike on the edge of Lucy's windowsill. As he slowly slid the unlocked window open, the familiar scent of his best friend wafted through the opening, giving his senses a pleasant welcome back. All the lights were off, which was an obvious sign that Lucy wasn't home at the moment. It was okay though; Natsu could wait.

He carefully slid the window closed again and leapt nimbly over Lucy's bed, landing lightly on the floor. Here in the very middle of the tiny apartment was where Lucy's scent further invaded Natsu's nose, much to his absolute pleasure. He could feel his head getting lighter as if he was high and floating on air. The frustration Natsu felt towards Lisanna quickly melted away the longer he breathed in Lucy's delicious scent.

She smelled like something warm and sweet—like vanilla…or sugar cookies. _Mmm_.

Natsu turned the lights on and looked around the apartment for a bit, poking and prodding and being nosy as usual. He wandered over to Lucy's writing desk where a feather quill pen sat precariously inside of a small bottle of jet black ink next to a messy stack of paper. Upon closer inspection, Natsu noticed all the pages actually had writing on them. Eyes quickly darting left and right, Natsu glanced over at the front door to see if the blonde was coming. She wasn't.

Seeing that the coast was clear, Natsu snatched up the pages from the desk and began to read, his eyes alight with excitement. Lucy _always_ had a conniption whenever he and Happy—or anyone for that matter—read her stories.

 _I wonder why that is,_ Natsu said to himself as his eyes darted across a random passage:

 _The young, beautiful, blonde wizard sat back and pondered for a moment upon the severity of their current situation. Looks of hopelessness and confusion were all that greeted her every gaze._

" _Licia, we don't know what to do! Please,_ you _have to help us come up with a plan!" Chappy the small, blue puppy cried._

" _Yeah, without_ you _here, we'd be lost for sure," chimed in Slate, his dark bangs casting a dramatic shadow across his eyes._

" _Not to worry, I always have a plan! Here's what we'll do—"_

 _Licia, the amazing (beautiful) wizard quietly explained the plan to her team._

" _That's a great idea!" Verano screeched, pumping his fist into the air. His pink locks seemed to crackle with electricity in all his excitement._

" _Yes, why didn't I think of that?" The austere drawl of Gasha rang out. "Nice one, Licia. Let's move out!"_

 _And without further ado, the band of warriors rushed forth to save their town's citizens._

Natsu's eyebrows raised high in wonder the further he read on into the story. _Wow, this is so good! Why does Lucy act like she's such a terrible writer?_

Shrugging to himself in response, Natsu sat the story back down on the desk where he found it, and was about to turn away when a small, brown leather-bound book caught his eye.

"Huh? What's this?" Natsu picked up the book and flipped it open. It didn't take him long to realize it was—

 _Lucy's diary? Hm…well what do we have here…?_

He began to read:

 _He's so damn CLUELESS sometimes. Actually, MOST of the time. He really has no idea. I wish I could tell him, but dammit it's too hard! My heart is always beating fast whenever I'm near him—and he has a habit of being TOO CLOSE in my face! But…he's so cute with his goofy, pointy grin and all so…I don't really mind. But—_

Before Natsu could get any further in his second reading adventure, his stomach interrupted with a loud, drawn-out growl.

"Whoops, time to eat!"

He slammed the diary shut, dropped it back down on the desk where he found it and bounded over to the refrigerator.

"And the goods for today are—"

Natsu threw open the refrigerator door and his eyes were met with every delicious delicacy he could ever dream of—and he went to work on shoving those dreams down his throat.

...

Belly full and hunger satiated, Natsu found himself rifling through Lucy's dresser drawers. Of all the clothes and accessories he found, Natsu's favorite drawer was the one filled to the top with all the Celestial Wizard's _underwear._

Natsu felt himself salivate as he took note of how varied Lucy's collection had gotten since he first met her. His weird little Lucy went from plain white panties with tiny pink bows and the occasional teddy bear on the backside to _—thongs_ and _G-strings?!_

 _HUH?!_

Natsu placed a trembling hand into the sea of skimpy, multicolored strips of fabric and pulled out a bright crimson silk G-string with black and gold bead-and-sequin embroidery. He stared at the dainty little thing as it dangled from his left index finger. Then his eyes fell on another bit of red peeking out at him from the drawer; he reached for it and pulled out a matching bra.

Natsu shivered lustfully as an image of Lucy wearing the racy set instantly conjured itself up in his mind. Clutching the lingerie in his hands, he brought the G-string up to his nose and inhaled deeply. All of Natsu's senses lit up and his body almost underwent spontaneous combustion on the spot.

Reason tried to fight its way to the surface of Natsu's mind as he suddenly tore his face away from the crotch of the red silk.

 _What am I_ doing?

Sweat beaded on Natsu's brow and he felt a surge of pressurized heat rush down to his penis, rendering his reason useless.

No longer thinking, Natsu stumbled over to Lucy's bed with the sexy set still in tow, and climbed into it. All of what lingered of Natsu's resentment was replaced with desire and he buried himself underneath the blanket where Lucy's fragrance surrounded and clung to his own body. He was now lost in his own little world.

It was as if his body was on autopilot and Natsu could only bear witness to its movement—but he didn't mind. His throbbing penis was in his left hand with the G-string before he knew it and his right hand pressed one of the large cups of the bra over his own face like a mask. Natsu took a deep breath in, making himself get higher and higher still…

His lightheaded bliss mixed with the rhythmic pumping of his fist quickly drove Natsu to the edge of sanity, where falling over that edge would equal an explosion of satisfaction beyond anything he ever imagined or experienced.

He didn't care this time.

Lisanna was the furthest thing from his mind.

Natsu's body temperature rose as he gasped and moaned aloud, feeling free; he reveled in the fact that he was alone, so he didn't have to worry about suppressing his cries of pleasure. His mind was reeling—his immediate environment took further hold of him—the concentrated sweetness of the blonde mage in the air, the bedspread, the bra.

The smoothness of the thin strips of material Natsu palmed sent more shivers up his spine as he worked his hand up and down his shaft. The familiar sensation of an oncoming orgasm began to creep up on the fire mage.

"Ahhhh….ohhh….ohhh….ohh…ahhhhhhh!"

And just as Natsu climaxed, he let put a resounding, stuttering, "L-L-LUUUUUCCCCCCYY!"

His cum shot out in small spurts all over his hand, the underwear and the underside of the heavy pink blanket. Natsu gasped for air as the room finally stopped spinning and sleepiness pulled at the corners of his consciousness.

All of a sudden, Natsu heard the loud click of a lock and a door slowly creaking open. The Dragon Slayer crash-landed back to Earthland at the sounds. His already-racing heart jumped up and found a home in his throat when he heard the familiar female voice call out to him—

" _Natsu?"_

*FEARI*

 **Author's Note:** **I'm such a TROLL, I know. But I learned from the best: Mashima-sensei! :P And what's more, typing this all up on my phone is exhausting!** **I deserve to have SOME fun as I tap away on this overheated screen, right? Stay tuned for CHAPTER FIVE! ^_^**


	6. My Eye on You

**Disclaimer:** **FAIRY TAIL, all characters, likenesses and related indicia are owned by Hiro Mashima, Del Ray Manga, Kodansha, Weekly Shonen Magazine, Madman Entertainment, TV Tokyo and FUNimation. Enjoy this FICTIONAL, FAN-WRITTEN story, but please also go support the official release. :)**

*FEARI*

The salmon-haired fire mage froze where he lay, still panting beneath Lucy's covers.

 _Shit! Fuck! Dammit!_ Natsu panicked in his mind. He heard the door close. Natsu could feel the tiny hairs on his arms and on the back of his neck stand on end as Lucy's voice drew nearer.

" _What_ are you doing here?! And in my _bed_ at that?!"

Natsu hurriedly stuffed his sleeping dragon back into his pants along with the small, wadded-up bit of red silken material. He desperately wiped his hand on the side of his pant leg and simultaneously shoved the large bra under Lucy's pillows. Just as Natsu poked the last bit of crimson bra strap beneath the pillows, all the covers were snatched off of him. An angry blonde with blazing brown eyes stared down at him, completely flushed in the face.

"Answer me, Natsu! What the HELL are you doing in _my_ room, in _my_ bed, with _your_ B.O. and filthy shoes on?!"

Natsu quickly sat up in the bed and opened his mouth to respond, but Lucy already had something else in mind. She swung her right booted leg back wildly and—

"LUCY KI—"

Lucy's raging attack was cut short when Natsu caught her by the ankle with ease, flipping her upside-down.

"Kyaaaaaaaa! Natsu! Put me _down!"_ Lucy shrieked, now dangling in Natsu's casual hold as he stood up.

"Sorry, Luce," said Natsu with a half smirk. "Those kicks really don't work on me anymore. Maybe you should train up one of these days."

Lucy, who was flailing around as she tried to keep her short, blue pleated skirt from flipping up, fumed.

"For _your information,_ I already haaaaa—" Lucy caught herself before she blurted out her secret to Natsu.

Natsu crooked an eyebrow in confusion. "You haaaaaaaaaa—?"

"I haaaaaaaaaa! Haaaa! Haaaa! I laugh!" Lucy exclaimed, easing her way from a potential line of questioning, though she was more than sure that she wasn't doing a good job at it. _I wish he'd put me the hell down already!_

Natsu walked over to Lucy's couch, her ankle still in his grip. He finally released her and she dropped onto the seat cushions with a soft _thud!_

Lucy jerked her face up from the cushion, flipped over on her back to jump up and curse Natsu out some more—only to find herself almost nose-to-nose with him. She gasped in surprise as she realized Natsu's body hovered right above her own. One bent knee was pressed between the back cushion of the couch and Lucy's hip and Natsu's other foot was still planted on the floor.

Lucy's face felt extremely hot. _Why is he so_ close?

Time stretched forward as the two young wizards stared at each other. Lucy could have sworn she saw the shadow of a quiet, unspoken something in Natsu's eyes, and it made her inwardly panic to try to figure out what that something was.

She blushed as she ushered her curious thoughts away and broke eye contact with the boy that was practically lying on top of her.

"I, um…I'm-I'm actually _relieved_ to see you, Natsu," said Lucy. "I've been kinda worried since I haven't seen you around all week!"

"Uh, yeah, right," Natsu replied. With that, he moved away from Lucy and stood back up, suddenly looking a little shaken up. The worried look in his eyes didn't escape Lucy's notice.

"Natsu…are you okay? Is something the matter?"

Natsu's gaze glazed over momentarily before he gave a start. He turned to look at Lucy as if he just noticed her sitting on the couch for the first time.

"Y-yeah. Yeah, it's nothing, Luce. I probably just need to eat something."

The look of concern that clouded Lucy's face instantly cleared. "Oh, is that all?" She smiled and headed over to the refrigerator. "Well, that's no problem!"

"Uh, Lucy, I–"

"I can whip something up for the both of us in no t—"

The rest of Lucy's sentence faded into a shocked, high-pitched squeak because when she opened the refrigerator door, she was met with a light bulb and air. Her neck jerked around in Natsu's direction and she felt a vein throbbing in her forehead.

"NATSU! YOU INCONSIDERATE PIG! YOU ATE _ALL_ MY DAMN FOOD?!"

"But Lucy, I was so hun-AHHHHH!" Natsu ducked in time as Lucy hurled pots, pans, books (and her boot?!) at him.

"I haven't seen you in a whole week and THIS is how you make your grand comeback?! GET OUT, YOU GREEDY BUM!" Lucy shrieked, her fiery eyes trained on Natsu as she felt around for something else to hurl at her target.

"Aw, come on Luce, don't be like that!" Natsu whined with his arms held protectively above his head.

"You just ate me out of _house_ and _home_ and ALL you can say is 'DON'T BE LIKE THAT?!'" Lucy roared, advancing upon Natsu.

The fire mage took a chance and threw himself down at her feet and clung to her legs. "Lucy, please let me stay! I'm so hungry!"

Lucy's anger reached a new peak as she looked down her nose at her pouting teammate and spat in reply, "Hmph, well why can't you just go back home to your _own_ house? Or better yet— _LI-SAN-NA'S?"_

The young Takeover wizard's name came out of Lucy's mouth far more harshly than she intended.

Natsu, still on his knees at Lucy's feet, clawed up her legs and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Wait, Natsu! What are you do—?!"

Lucy was thrown off balance and stumbled backwards until she was right where she started, sprawled out across the pink love seat, this time with Natsu lying right on top of her.

"Just let me stay, Lucy! I-I've missed you so much, too!" Natsu added in his continued attempt to mollify the blushing girl beneath him. "It's always so lonely at my place, plus it's late—"

Natsu buried his face into Lucy's shoulder and wailed, _"Pleeeeassseee?"_

Lucy, feeling all hot and bothered from Natsu's body bearing down on her own like this finally sighed. "Fine, fine! You can stay—BUT you have to go food shopping with me tomorrow!"

"Okay, I'll help! I promise!" replied Natsu, happy and relieved. He shifted his body a little and sighed into Lucy's neck, causing goosebumps to erupt all over her person. A few moments of silent stillness passed.

"Um, Natsu? You know you can get off of me now."

"Oh! Uh, yeah—right!" Natsu hopped up and threw Lucy his signature grin.

"Look, it's been a long day," said Lucy, standing up and fixing her clothes. "I just want to hurry up and take a nice, hot relaxing bath so I can go to bed."

"Sounds fine by me," said Natsu. He stretched out on the couch and watched Lucy as she gathered her bathing items and headed for the bathroom. Then a bright idea came to him.

"Hey, Lucy, can I join you?" He asked her retreating back.

Lucy spun around and shot an incredulous look at the crazy Dragon Slayer.

"IN YOUR DREAMS!"

She slammed the bathroom door shut and started running her bathwater. On the other side of the door she heard Natsu say, "Aw, c'mon, Luce! If we share a bath, we'd be saving _lots_ of water!"

Taken aback, Lucy replied, "And since when did _you_ of all people suddenly become an environmentalist?! Wait your turn!"

 _Has Natsu been hanging with Loke or_ what?!

…

Lucy emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a fluffy white towel, feeling fresh, clean and relaxed. _Now_ she was ready for bed.

"Okay, Natsu, it's all yours!"

Natsu, who was lying across the couch on his stomach reading more pages from Lucy's story, looked over at her. At that point, Lucy was already filing through her drawer for a pair of pajamas, her back turned to him. His eyes roved over her curves and lingered on her hips, ass and legs. He felt his mouth go partially dry as he stood up and made his way over to the bathroom.

 _Shake it off, Dragneel,_ Natsu told himself. _Maybe I should take a cold shower instead…_

…

"Sheesh, Lucy! You didn't save enough hot water for me!" Natsu complained as he came out of the bathroom with a fluffy white towel wrapped around his waist. "I had to heat it up myself and—"

Natsu realized how quiet it was in the room. His jet eyes first looked over at the couch and noticed that Lucy had fixed the cushions and neatly laid out an extra pillow and folded blanket for him. Then his eyes caught sight of Lucy, who was already tucked away in bed, snuggled deep beneath the covers, fast asleep.

Natsu tiptoed across the floor, stopped at the foot of the bed and stared down at Lucy.

 _Wow_ , she looked so beautiful and peaceful when she wasn't awake and yelling at him all day. Natsu smiled in spite of himself. Lucy was beautiful asleep _or_ awake. He stood and watched her a little while longer.

Seconds stretched into minutes…

Finally, Natsu reached towards the slumbering girl and brushed a stray lock of hair from her face. His heart sped up again, but he didn't know why. This feeling was different from the way he felt earlier, or even how he felt recently overall. Natsu felt a comforting warmth deep inside himself as he watched Lucy.

With one last smile, Natsu returned to the other side of the apartment, where he quickly changed back into his clothes. Then he turned out the lights, lay down on the couch, tossed the blanket over himself and fell quickly into a pleasant sleep.

…

 _Lucy was running. She was running far and fast, but getting nowhere. She was met with complete darkness at every turn; it was a wonder that she was even able to see her own hand in front of her face or her feet desperately hitting the ground._

 _Rumbling roars, growls and snarls could be heard behind her. Lucy dared to peer over her shoulder, but all she saw was pure black. That's when the sickly, rotting odor filled her nostrils._

 _As if the foul smell registering in Lucy's nose was a light switch, the darkness gave way a little and the mysterious entity that chased her came into full view—it was a_ lizard troll.

" _Ahhhh!"_

 _Lucy was chased down until she finally hit a dead end. When she reached for her hip, neither her trusty whip nor her Spirit Keys were there._

I'm cornered…this can't be happening. _Lucy desperately turned around and pressed her back into the old brick wall that blocked her from running any further. Her eyes darted up at the face of the wretched beast._

 _There was nothing Lucy could do to fight._

 _There was nowhere for her to go._

 _Just as Lucy squared her shoulders, grit her teeth and prepared to die here alone, the disgusting monster before her began to change shape. Slick, slimy scales transformed into bright blue fur; blank, glistening eyes were replaced with big, round ones with a touch of amusement in them. Suddenly there was a giant Happy smiling down at Lucy, but there was something deranged about the cat's smile._

" _Look at fat little Lucy, too weak to_ really _call herself a member of Fairy Tail," Happy said mockingly, stifling a snicker behind his paw. Then his shrill, squeaking laughter rang out into the dead silence of this barren world in which Lucy was prisoner. To her horror, the giant Exceed's face and body began to decompose before her eyes._

 _A scream lodged itself in Lucy's throat but it couldn't get past the hard lump that formed there. She watched, frozen, as Happy's fur, skin and eyes melted away in slippery, loose, bloody flesh all the way down to a large—surprisingly humanoid—skull. The laughter deepened to an ominous pitch as the empty left eye socket unexpectedly flashed a strange, bright cerulean light._

 _The mouth fell open and declared to Lucy in the same rumbling timbre, "Get ready…you're gonna have a BAD TIME."_

 _Lucy's eyes widened as the skull resumed its wild laughter and the decomposition she just witnessed played in reverse—until Happy's cackling face beamed down at her once again._

 _The flat dirt ground vanished from beneath Lucy's feet and she plummeted into an abyss of endless darkness once more. Lucy could see nothing, feel nothing, but the voices chased her all the way down. Weaving in and out of Lucy's head in an eerie echo, the voices alternated between Happy's and the deep, rumbling one._

" _He_ looooooves _you…he looooooves you…BAD TIME…get ready…he looooooves you…you're gonna have a BAD TIME—"_

Lucy jerked awake with a loud gasp, in a cold sweat and her body trembling from head to toe. That dream, no, that _nightmare_ , it was so bizarre but it felt so real. Too real. Lucy blinked the sleepy blurriness from her eyes only to find herself nose-to-nose with none other than Natsu. Early morning sunlight streamed through the window, where it struck the fire mage's back, surrounding him with an ethereal glow. Natsu was lying on his side wide awake, _staring_ at her.

"Ahhhh! Natsu, you creep!" Lucy bolted straight up in bed and grabbed the first thing she could reach (her pillow) and smashed it over Natsu's face. "What the hell are you doing in my bed— _again?!"_

Lucy felt light vibrations in the pillow she held over Natsu's face as his muffled voice attempted to answer her. "What?!"

Natsu grabbed Lucy's wrists and pushed her arms away from his face. The slightly pink-faced, smiling Dragon Slayer sat up, stretched and casually repeated, "I said 'Nothing. It's just that I never realized how nice it is to watch you sleep.'"

"W- _what_?" That caught Lucy completely off guard. She felt her face instantly heat up with embarrassment.

"Yeah…" Natsu lazily scratched his wild bedhead locks. "You look so peaceful…you look even prettier when you sleep."

 _Huh?_ Lucy wasn't sure she heard that right. _Natsu actually thinks I'm—_ pretty?

She was at a loss for words.

"Until not long ago though," Natsu added. "You looked _scared._ Did you have a nightmare or something?"

Lucy slowly lowered her hands, still clutching her pillow. "Uh—er—yeah, kind of…"

A single glowing cerulean eye flashed through her mind, making her slightly shudder again.

"What was it about?"

"Oh…I don't remember it," Lucy lied. "It's all a blur now…"

Quickly changing the subject, Lucy flung her pillow at Natsu and as he caught it said, "Hey, don't think I forgot! You're supposed to help me go food shopping!"

Natsu's smile vanished as he heaved a reluctant sigh. "Ugh, okay fine. Let's go!"

…

After Lucy and Natsu returned to her apartment from food shopping, Lucy was too tired to cook so the two wizards went out to eat at one of their favorite restaurants instead. It wasn't until after Natsu downed about seventy full plates of food that he realized that he didn't have his money on him, to Lucy's absolute horror. Luckily, she had plenty of Jewel on her person, so she covered both of their meals. Full, satisfied and bill paid, the two of them sat and continued to catch up with each other.

"Where have you been lately, Natsu?" Lucy inquired innocently, leaning forward and resting her chin on her hands. "I've actually missed seeing you around at the guild. That's not like you."

Natsu chuckled nervously and replied, "You know, I've been around. I think maybe we might have missed each other or something. I walk out, you walk in; I walk in, you walk out…y-you know?" He fought to keep the tension out of his voice lest Lucy noticed.

"Really? Hm…but even Happy has been worried about you because of your ' strange behavior.' Are you sure everything's alright? You know you can tell me anything, right?" She eyed him closely as she waited for a response.

"Sure, Luce! Don't worry!" Natsu answered, beaming brightly from across the table. "Hey, whaddya say we head over to the guild hall and find some jobs to go on?"

Lucy raised a questioning eyebrow at Natsu and leaned back in her seat. "Are you sure? You know we don't _have_ to go out on any jobs for a while because of the Vervain mission, so—"

"It's always best to keep in tip-top shape, Luce!" Natsu exclaimed. "And we can only do that by keepin' it movin'! Let's go on a job together!"

"Uh…okay," Lucy finally gave in. Maybe going on another job wasn't a bad idea after all. "Let's find Gray, Erza and Happy!"

…

 _You're gonna have a BAD TIME, kid…BAD TIME…you're gonna have a BAD TIME…_

*FEARI*

 **Author's Note:** **FINALLY, Chapter Five! I know it's a bit on the short side, pardon me. As I type, it always seem much longer than it actually is. It's really no fun not having my laptop to work on. It's still in need of repair. And the repairs I need are currently not in the budget, so I have to wait a little longer before I make any progress in getting that issue resolved. At least I'm no longer in panic mode about it. Shit happens. I can say on the plus side though, despite working from my phone, this pace is much better for me. Surprise updates seem far more appealing to me now. :)**

 **So anyway…Natsu managed to relieve himself and hide the evidence in time before LUCY caught that ass! HA, HA!**

 **And what about Lucy's nightmare? Do I have any UNDERTALE fans in the audience tonight? ;) If you're** _ **not**_ **aware of what UNDERTALE is, it's a popular, endearing role-playing 8-bit style computer game. I recommend you check it out. There are two ways you can play the game, one of which you choose at the beginning. You can pick the PACIFIST narrative, in which you play the game and interact with other characters through peaceful, kind exchanges only, complete with inspiring dialogue and morals you can apply to your everyday life. Or…you can play the GENOCIDE narrative, in which you coldly and cruelly leave a trail of pixilated blood and show no mercy to** _ **anyone**_ **who crosses your path.**

 **The part in the nightmare where Happy's head decomposes into the skull with the one glowing cerulean eye is a nod towards the UNDERTALE character, Sans. "You're gonna have a BAD TIME" is what he says to the player in the game when he or she chooses to play the GENOCIDE narrative.**

 **So…what is this nightmare possibly trying to tell Lucy then…?**


	7. Conversions & Conversations

**Disclaimer:** **FAIRY TAIL, all characters, likenesses and related indicia are owned by Hiro Mashima, Del Ray Manga, Kodansha, Weekly Shonen Magazine, Madman Entertainment, TV Tokyo and FUNimation. Enjoy this FICTIONAL, FAN-WRITTEN story, but please also go support the official release. :)**

*FEARI*

 _Wednesday Night._

The warm summer night was blanketed by a gentle, sweeping breeze. In the peaceful quiet, only the chirping crickets and rustling leaves of trees could be heard somewhere in the distance. Most of Magnolia was fast asleep right now, save for one young mage who sat staring silently out of her open window without really seeing. She was too far gone inside her thoughts to truly take in the night's marvels.

 _"You fuckin' TEASE!"_ Natsu's harsh, cold words sliced through Lisanna's memory again and again as she clenched her eyes tightly shut, trying to stave off the pain he caused.

 _How could he be so_ mean? What's _gotten into him lately?_ Lisanna wondered. She turned her gaze up towards the sky, allowing her eyes to focus on the stars and the waxing moon. Fresh tears welled in her eyes now that she was safe and alone without prying eyes closely watching her. Namely, _Mirajane's._

Lisanna hadn't heard from Natsu since Friday when he stormed away from what was supposed to have been a romantic outing...

Though she hadn't heard from Natsu, Lisanna had certainly _seen_ him around a few times, mainly at the guild hall when he wasn't running off on jobs back-to-back...and mainly with _Lucy_ by his side...

On Saturday, Lisanna avoided the guild hall altogether, but from Sunday to today Natsu appeared to be giving her the cold shoulder. On the outside looking in, Natsu was still the same old loud, fiery, excitable Dragon Slayer bounding through the hall's doors, picking fights with Gray and traipsing off on new jobs "to earn more Jewel for food." Upon closer observation however, one could read between the lines and Lisanna was caught in between those lines.

On Sunday when Lisanna sat in the guild hall in plain sight, Natsu made a point in walking past her and avoiding her gaze. Instead he opted to sit with Lucy, which certainly wasn't unusual but he sat a little closer to the Celestial mage than normal.

On Monday, when she sat alone at their usual table, Natsu turned to pick a fight with Gray which sent them tumbling away in the opposite direction.

On Tuesday, when Lisanna was behind the bar assisting Mira with food and drink service, Natsu stared quietly down at his plate the entire time without saying a word to neither Strauss sister. This earned a suspicious glance at the young couple from Mira, but Lisanna quickly snatched up a tray of food and sped over to the table of rowdy mages who made the order.

To be blatantly ignored by her boyfriend was one thing, which was painful and awkward enough; but it was another kind of worse pain to see how... _attached_ Natsu had been to Lucy, especially over the past few days. This attachment...this _closeness_...it was all more intense than usual, even for _Natsu_.

The more she thought about it, the more seeds of jealousy blossomed in Lisanna's heart, but guilt followed closely after. How could she _possibly_ be jealous of _LUCY_? She was such a sweetheart, after all... Lisanna's rational side _knew_ that there was nothing between Natsu and Lucy...right? Natsu himself proudly declared all the time how Lucy was one of his closest, dearest nakama...

Nakama.

Friend.

Comrade.

Buddy.

Pal.

Partner.

Teammate.

That's _it,_ that's _all._ Natsu loved _her;_ Natsu was in a relationship with _her._ He could have gotten with Lucy during the time of Lisanna's absence, but he _didn't._ She held on to the sweet childhood memories of when she and Natsu would play "House," where he was the strong, providing husband and she was the doting, devoted wife. And once they had their baby (Happy), Lisanna knew for a fact that this play-pretend life was something she really wanted one day when they grew up...

Lisanna gave a small smile to the many stars winking down at her as she thought back on the Natsu she knew from Edolas: Natsu Dragion. He was _nothing at all_ like her Earthland Natsu Dragneel. An image of Natsu smiling arrogantly behind the wheel of his hot ride then one of Natsu cowering at the feet of an overly-aggressive blonde came to mind.

The other Lucy...Lucy Ashley. A tsundere if there ever _was_ one.

A tiny giggle slipped from Lisanna's lips in spite of herself as she remembered how Edo-Natsu and Edo-Lucy interacted. Now _those_ two _are_ meant to be together, she concluded in mild amusement.

"Yeah...in Edolas, Natsu and Lucy should be together...but _here_..." Lisanna shook herself from going down that dark road. "No, Earthland Natsu _is_ mine...and I'm _his._ "

She sighed as remnants of Friday crept up on her again. Her initial jealousy and worries about Lucy melted away as the guilt inside expanded, this time for a different reason. She wanted Natsu just as badly as he wanted her...but she just wasn't ready to go all the way with him yet. She was a virgin, after all, and...Lisanna didn't take such things so lightly. Not even during her time in Edolas was she tempted to give herself to anyone.

That was then...but _now_...?

Before Lisanna knew it, she found herself sinking deeply into the delicious memory of how Natsu made her feel with his hands before everything went wrong. A slight shiver passed through her body as she could almost feel phantom fingers rub against her clit. Lisanna squeezed her thighs together with a short pant as she secretly wondered what would it have felt like if she _did_ let Natsu go down on her...

Heat rose up her neck, around her ears and to her face as she continued to think about it. But just as swiftly as her curiosity of the guilty pleasure came, it went as Natsu's contorted red face appeared once again.

 _"You fuckin'_ TEASE!"

Lisanna had never seen Natsu so angry before—at least, not such anger being aimed towards _her_.

 _Maybe...maybe I_ am _a tease,_ Lisanna considered silently. _I don't want Natsu to think I'm playing games with him._ She pushed herself up from the chair by the window, walked over to her vanity mirror and sat down where she stared at her own slightly-pink face and red, puffy eyes. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Heaven knows she loved and cared _deeply_ about Natsu...and Lisanna wanted Natsu to know this, too...

The young fire mage's mind didn't always quite operate on the same wavelength as other "normal" people; maybe that could explain his frustration. Maybe Natsu was feeling unappreciated, and he just wanted to be _closer_ to Lisanna, deepening the bond in this relationship. Wasn't that what she always wanted, anyway?

 _It_ has _been a long while since we started dating seriously..._

Maybe...maybe making love to Natsu could be the way to let him know that she loved him and wanted him just as much as he wanted her...in that way.

Mirajane's face appeared in Lisanna's mind, complete with her dark, borderline-satanic sisterly authority, "No matter _WHAT_ , Lisanna, _NEVER_ let a boy pressure you to do _anything_ you don't wanna do! Boys are dense, creepy creatures that usually follow the lead of whichever way their dicks are pointing... _DO NOT FALL FOR IT._ "

Lisanna's brow beaded with a bit of sweat at that particular memory of her older sister giving such a blunt lecture about boys—but what did Mira _really_ know? For as long as Lisanna could remember, she never recalled seeing Mira with a boyfriend of _any_ kind. Maybe it was because Mira managed to scare away every type of male specimen known to man—from actual boys to male dung beetles—they _all_ steered clear from that scary, Gothic, rebellious, _old_ version of Mira.

Lisanna pushed Mira from her mind as her thoughts cleared the way for Natsu again. Her body went on autopilot as she watched her own reflection lean back in her seat, legs falling open as she did so.

Her left hand explored the smooth, lily-white smoothness of her own inner thigh. A stray index finger touched the soft lilac fabric of her underwear and gingerly pressed down on the rapidly swelling bud beneath. A hard shiver rocked Lisanna's body and her clit throbbed with longing as she slipped her hand inside her underwear and rubbed herself in slow, small circles.

This sensation...it felt so _good_...but it was _NOTHING_ compared to the way Natsu touched her.

"Mmm...N-Natsu..." Lisanna whispered as her finger rubbed quicker circles. Natsu's cold shoulder, his rage, his harsh words—they all disappeared completely from the Takeover mage's conscience. Her eyes slid shut and she focused only on the sample of pleasure he bestowed upon her on Friday.

But just as quickly as she started, Lisanna abruptly stopped.

"I can't do this..." She yanked her hand out of her underwear, eyes snapping open.

It was in that very moment that Lisanna made her decision. She decided to take initiative and make up with Natsu.

Lisanna decided to finally give herself completely to him.

…

 _Thursday Afternoon._

After five entire days of being ensnared in Natsu's presence, Lucy _finally_ managed to slip away from the Fire Dragon Slayer in favor of some more secret training. To the Celestial wizard's surprise, she received a less-than-warm welcome back from her Celestial Spirits— _specifically_ from one King of the Zodiac.

"Well look who's finally decided to call on us again," Loke said sourly as he passed through his gate of summons. Lucy caught the tone of Loke's voice and cocked a confused eyebrow.

"And what's _that_ supposed to mean?"

Before Loke could open his mouth to respond, the ground between them suddenly began to shake and cave in as—UP!—sprang Virgo from the newly reverse-drilled hole, where she shot straight into the air. The pink-haired maiden tucked her body into a dramatic front flip before landing daintily on her feet in front of Lucy, ending her entrance with a deep bow, the shackles on her wrists clanking loudly.

"I've been waiting on you to call me out for punishment, Princess," the stoic-faced maiden said. "What Brother means is that we've been wondering why you haven't been calling us to train you, Princess."

"Ohhh!" Lucy exclaimed in realization. "Sorry about that, you guys..." She looked around at each of the summoned Spirits who agreed to help train her: Taurus, Virgo, Sagittarius and Loke. "It's just that I've been out on jobs for the guild back-to-back-to-back these past few days."

Loke spoke up, "But I thought you had plenty of Jewel so that you wouldn't even _have_ to go out on any jobs for a while?"

Lucy released a heavy puff of breath, straining under Loke's accusatory tone and replied, "I _know_ , and it's true...but _Natsu's_ been the one who keeps insisting that we go out on all these jobs all of a sudden. Besides," she added, "I figured this would be a great way to put this secret training to use!"

Taurus, Virgo and Sagittarius all nodded in agreement with this reasoning, but Loke snorted in something bordering on contempt. "Is that so?" The Lion retorted. "Well, there's only but so much to _put_ to use since you _haven't_ even been training."

Lucy's eyes narrowed darkly as she watched Loke nonchalantly push his blue shades up the bridge of his nose, cooly shove his hands in his pockets, and walk a short distance away from the group. She did _not_ like his attitude today. The tension in the air was palpable.

Rather than feed into whatever sideways vibe Loke was currently on, Lucy elected to change the subject.

"I'll have to dodge Natsu for a while now. It's not like I even get to _do_ much on these jobs anymore lately." She folded her arms in front of her chest as she continued to explain, looking a little troubled, "Natsu's been...I feel like he's been preventing me from taking part!"

"What do you mean, Princess?" Virgo asked, quietly eyeing Loke as he stood off nearby and raised a curious eyebrow against his better judgement.

"I mean, he breaks his neck to invite me along on all these crazy jobs, but when it's time to actually _fight_ , he _shields_ me, tells me to stand back, _or_ he beats the _entire_ team to the punch and obliterates the whole town! Enemies and all!"

Lucy released an exasperated sigh as the memory of how she, Erza, Gray and Happy all scrambled to extinguish Natsu's uncontrollable overkill-flames that threatened to reduce a small town to ashes resurfaced in her mind. "He's been acting so weird lately...even for _Natsu_."

"Oh, I see," Loke said, stepping forward to rejoin the group, "Well, don't you worry your beautiful head. _I'll_ keep that blowtorch from ruining our trainings from now on, so—"

"' _Our'_ trainings?" Lucy smirked. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought that Loke was _jealous_. "So you plan on helping out full-time now?"

"Of course," replied Loke, regaining his suave demeanor, unnecessarily adjusting his suit tie. " _Anything_ to be in your heavenly presence." The Golden Lion gave Lucy a flirtatious wink and sly smile, causing her to blush and scramble away from the range of his grasp. Loke's smile only widened.

"W-whatever, Loke! Enough of the pervy kissy face and let's just—GO!"

...

Something was amiss and she could _feel_ it. Mirajane was quieter than usual as she cleaned the bar countertop, lost in her thoughts. She didn't engage in her usual barmaid chats or even her notorious matchmaking schemes. All she could think about was Lisanna...and Natsu. There was some kind of friction between those two and neither wizard spoke on it, but their behavior was all too obvious.

 _This makes absolutely_ no _sense though_ , Mira thought as she rolled a large barrel of the guild's strongest mead (Mira's own secret recipe) over to an impatient Cana. _They were perfectly fine just last week—what happened?_ Mira noticed how on Friday, the two young lovebirds left the guild hall, strolling arm-in-arm...but from Saturday onward, the energy was just _weird_.

Natsu avoided Lisanna completely, didn't acknowledge her presence at all...and Lisanna always became flustered and self-conscious when he was near. Mira knew that it wasn't her place to interfere in her little sister's relationship because ups and downs were to be expected, but...this still didn't sit well with her as a big sister.

 _Maybe I should just sit back for now,_ Mira decided as she returned to her post behind the bar. _There's probably nothing to worry about. It's young love, after all..._

At that moment, the doors of the hall were flung open and in strode Natsu with Happy hovering over his shoulder cradling a raw fish in his paws. The fire mage's eyes wandered all around the hall, searching. Not finding what he was looking for, Mira noticed Natsu spot her and head her way.

"Hey Mira," said Natsu, plopping down onto one of the barstools.

"Hi, Natsu," Mira managed to say brightly. "What's up?"

"I'm looking for Lucy," Natsu said, turning slightly on his stool and scanning the hall again. "Have you seen her?"

Mira crooked an eyebrow at how intensely Natsu's eyes gazed all around the place for someone who wasn't there. "Um...yeah, I _did_ see Lucy earlier but she took off—she said she wanted to do some shopping."

" _Girls_ ," Natsu spat, shaking his head in mild disgust, He believed that "shopping 'til you dropped" was utterly pointless; he could still remember all the times Lucy made _him_ carry her packages. Her many, many, _heavy_ packages. Clothes, shoes, books, writing tools, ugh!

"Ah well," he finally said after a few moments. "I'll just hang around here for a bit instead. I'm feeling kinda hungry anyway."

"Want the usual?"

"Yeah, sure!"

Mira made her way to the kitchen to whip up the usual lunch special for Natsu: a giant slab of barbecued ribs, mead and a side of flame-on-a-stick. "Maybe I can ask him if everything's alright between him and Lisanna," she muttered to herself. But a tiny pang of guilt threatened to rise up and strike her. _But why feel guilty? She's_ my _baby sister and I have a right to make sure that everything is okay!_

Mira placed the food and drink on her serving tray and made her way out of the kitchen. _But this_ is _Natsu. He wouldn't hurt anyone he cares about, and the same goes for Lisanna..._ Mira sat the plate of grilled meat in front of Natsu with his mead and fire and he pounced right onto the meal.

"This tastes ten times better than usual!" Natsu exclaimed happily. "Thanks again, Mira!"

"Well it _is_ my job, Natsu," Mira chimed with a smile, hugging her serving tray to her chest. She stood back and watched as Natsu devoured his lunch with ravenous chomps, munches, gulps and slurps.

A beat...

"Natsu..." Mira began quietly, but before she could get another word out, Lisanna appeared from seemingly nowhere and walked up to the bar.

She looked a bit nervous but full of resolve.

"Hey, Natsu," Lisanna greeted the feasting Fire mage timidly. To her surprise, Natsu paused mid-chew, his slanted eyes shifting to the left acknowledging her presence beside him. He swallowed the rest of the meat with a mighty gulp, then swiveled on his stool to face her with a smile. "Oh, hey Lisanna." It wasn't as bright of a smile as his signature grin, but Lisanna could take that.

"Um..." Lisanna eyed Mira, who now stood with her back to the two of them, supposedly fixing drinks for other guild members, but Lisanna knew better than that. Mira was a tad bit _too_ focused on her task at hand, especially for someone as fast-paced in bar service as she.

"Natsu can we go talk—" she lowered her voice "—in private?"

Natsu, wondering what this was all about, nodded. "Uh, okay, sure." He downed what remained in his tankard, popped the entire flame into his mouth, then rose from the stool and followed Lisanna outside.

Mira turned and stared at the doors where the two just exited. She hoped her uneasy feelings were wrong. But most likely, they weren't,

…

Lisanna led Natsu to a quiet spot in the garden not too far from Fairy Tail. She hadn't said a word until they were both comfortably sitting on the bench. Twisting her hands together, fidgeting, Lisanna finally spoke.

"Natsu...I've missed you so _much_ and...and I hate that we haven't been talking."

Natsu sat with his arms crossed, expressionless and listening.

"Are you still mad at me?" Lisanna asked, realizing how desperate she sounded once the words came tumbling from her mouth. Natsu's eyebrows raised in wonder at the question.

"No, I'm not mad at you. What made you even _ask_ that?"

Lisanna was taken aback at Natsu's genuine shock about her asking this as if she came out of the clear blue sky with it. " _What?!_ Because we haven't been _talking_ , Natsu! All of the ignoring me, not acknowledging me, not speaking to me! It just—I just—"

Natsu suddenly scooted forward and pulled Lisanna into a tight embrace. He had actually almost completely forgotten about the disastrous picnic because, well...he was preoccupied with _other_ things. Namely, _Lucy_...

Natsu squeezed his eyes shut as he held onto Lisanna, trying to blink the images of Lucy from his mind's eye. _This is_ not _the time to fantasize, Dragneel!_

He held Lisanna away at arm's length and locked eyes with her. "Lisanna, I'm really sorry about Friday. I swear, I don't know what got into me..." He gently caressed her soft, smooth cheek as those dazzling blue eyes began to water before him. "Can you ever forgive me?"

Lisanna bit into her quivering bottom lip to better control her tears, nodding furiously. "Yes, Natsu. I forgive you!" She folded herself into his arms again and wrapped her own arms around his neck. "And can _you_ ever forgive _me_?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Natsu was puzzled as he paused his hand from stroking Lisanna's hair. "You don't have anything to apologize for!"

Lisanna looked up at her boyfriend to finally find that wide grin she missed. She gave a small smile of her own. Then slowly, sweetly, tenderly, the two young mages sealed their lover's truce with a kiss.

She reveled in the way her lips vibrated as Natsu hummed contently into the sweet exchange.

"Natsu..." She murmured, full of relief and feeling lighter than she had in days. "Do you have any plans for the weekend?"

Still humming, Natsu nuzzled his nose into Lisanna's hair and replied, "Nope. No plans."

"Good, _keep_ your weekend clear. I...I have something special planned."

Natsu's ears perked up. "Ooo, what is it?!"

"Natsu!" Lisanna giggled. "If I tell you now, it won't be a surprise! Nope, you'll just have to wait until Saturday to find out."

And with that, she gave Natsu a sly wink and continued to laugh as Natsu's face scrunched up in deep thought.

 _Hmm...what could it be?_

…

Lisanna's surprise was on Natsu's mind for the rest of the day. Saturday just couldn't come fast enough now! Even with Natsu's attempt to pass time by going out on an all-day job with Happy after leaving Lisanna, he simply couldn't stop wondering. Mage and Exceed returned in time for a late dinner served by Mira, when most of the other Fairy Tail members went home for the night.

After dinner, Natsu was about to go home for the night himself when he caught sight of Levy at one of the tables on the other side of the hall, packing away several textbooks and humming to herself while Gajeel stood next to her with his arms crossed, scowling impatiently.

The Iron Dragon Slayer's eyes shifted over in Natsu's direction and he reacted as soon as he noticed that he was about to leave.

"Salamander! _There_ you are!" Gajeel called out, glad to have something else to do besides wait on the tiny bluenette to finish packing away her portable library. "It's about time I caught up with you!" He made his way over to Natsu.

"Er...were you waiting on me or something?"

"As a matter of fact, _yeah_ , Salamander," Gajeel replied. "Hey, Shrimp!" He called over to Levy, who glared at him in response to his 'term of endearment,' "Go on ahead. I'll catch up in a few." Levy rolled her eyes, nodded then continued on her way out the door.

Gajeel turned his eyes onto Happy, who was sitting on the table. "Hey, get lost, cat. This is a private conversation," he growled.

"Hmph. No need to be so _rude_ about it!" Happy spat indignantly. "I'm off to find Carla then!"

Happy took flight once again and fluttered out of the guild hall.

Natsu narrowed his eyes at Gajeel and folded his arms across his chest. "So...uh...what's up?"

"I wanna talk to you for a minute. I got something to say."

Gajeel looked around again, making sure there was no one listening before he continued. "You know, I've noticed some changes in you lately, Salamander."

Natsu's heart dropped and he could almost feel all the blood drain from his face at Gajeel's words. "Uh— _what_?"

"Don't play dumb with me, it's insulting. Or did you forget—I'm Dragon Slayer, too?"

Natsu shifted uncomfortably where he stood and sank back down into his seat at the table.

"I don't have all night, so lemme just cut right to the chase—I _know_ about the changes you've been going through lately, Salamander."

"What?!" Natsu said with a start. "I don't know what you're tal—"

"I _said_ , DON'T play dumb with me!" Gajeel boomed. The last few mages who were still in the guild hall glanced around at the two. He calmed down with a few short breaths and lowered his voice. "Listen, there's _nothing_ to be embarrassed about. Truth be told—" Gajeel leaned in closer to Natsu, "I'm going through the exact same thing right now."

Natsu blinked twice then slowly shook his head in disbelief. "No...no...I don't buy it. There's _no way_ you know what I've been going through lately..."

"Oh?" Gajeel challenged. "So you mean I _don't_ know about the heightened senses? About the heightened awareness of women...specifically _one_ woman who's _always_ around and by my side?" He bared his sharp canines. "So, I _don't_ know about the late nights up sweating, shaking, damn-near rendered _paralyzed_ as waves of LUST rips through my body and rushes straight down to my _dick_?!"

Natsu flushed furiously and hastily glanced around the hall. Could Gajeel be any _louder_?

"You mean I _don't_ know—"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Natsu cut across him quickly. "I believe you! Sheesh!"

 _So...Gajeel_ is _telling the truth,_ Natsu thought with minor relief. _Maybe now I can get an explanation on this crazy shit that's been happening to me..._

"Well, if everything you're saying is true and _you're_ going through these— _changes—_ too, then how come you seem so relaxed and calm about all of this?!"

At that, Gajeel smirked wickedly.

"Simple, Salamander...I have better self-control. Gihihi."

Natsu glared at the Iron mage, not liking the notion of being mocked when Gajeel added, "And it doesn't hurt that I have an _iron_ _grip_ at my disposal at night."

The red of Natsu's face deepened to a near-purple as he thought back on the many times he pleasured himself at the thought of Lucy. Gajeel ignored Natsu's humiliation and continued. "Speaking of which, Makarov actually wants to see us."

" _Us_?"

"Yeah. You, me and Laxus. In his office. He told me to pass the message along when I see you."

"But why?"

"You'll find out when we go see him tomorrow evening," Gajeel replied, waving off Natsu's questions. Natsu, still utterly confused, finally agreed and without another word, Gajeel took his leave.

Mira came out from behind the bar to sweep the floor, but upon noticing Gajeel's exit, she instead pounced on the opportunity to finally talk to Natsu alone. Without making her moves too obvious, she quietly swept the floor for a few moments before working her way over to Natsu.

"So, how'd you enjoy your dinner?" Mira asked, beaming down at him. She noticed how distracted he looked, which was all the more reason to have this conversation.

"It was good, thanks again, Mira," Natsu responded in a slightly dazed voice. Clearly his attention wasn't all there, but Mira continued on with her plan.

She nodded, leaned her broom on the side of the table, and sat across from Natsu.

"Hey, Natsu...I actually wanted to talk to you about something real quick."

His eyes darted over to her, wide with further surprise. "What? _You too_? Man, what's going _on_ today?!"

Mira had no clue what Natsu was talking about, but she pressed on, "Actually, it's about Lisanna. I...I just wanted to know if everything is alright between you two. I mean...I couldn't help but notice—"

"What do you mean?" Natsu asked a bit more forcefully than he meant. He was feeling a bit on the defensive side now, especially after that abrupt exchange with Gajeel. "Everything is _fine_! Nothing to worry about!" He injected some extra cheerfulness into his voice to take some of the edge from his tone. "As a matter of fact, me and Lisanna are going to see each other this weekend!"

"Oh, okay!" Mira replied, caught completely off guard by Natsu's answer. "Well, enjoy then!" She took note of the genuine happiness and excitement in Natsu's expression. This put the notorious matchmaker at ease. No longer worried, Mira decided as she bade Natsu good night and watched him leave, to finally let the matter rest.

*FEARI*

 **Author's Note:** **Oh my gosh, you guys. We finally made it! You've FINALLY gotten to read Chapter 6! After almost FOUR MONTHS of waiting. Whew! First of all, I just want to thank you all for sticking with me for so long even in the midst of so many damn technical difficulties, or my Techno-Troubles as I'd like to call it (glitching, failing laptop; a broken cell phone 7 days AFTER I published Chapter 5; taking forever and a day to be able to GET my laptop fixed; finally getting my laptop fixed but then becoming too scared and untrusting to actually USE it again; buying $80 worth of a variety of notebooks from Wal-Mart and declaring, "NEVER AGAIN will I get caught up and seduced by the convenience of technology. I will write EVERY SINGLE THING by HAND like I USED TO, THEN type it up! Just like the good ol' days back in '03, '04 and '05!"; and so on and so forth). You could have chosen to unfollow me, leave the story, etc. but you DIDN'T. :) Your patience knows NO bounds! I appreciate you SO MUCH you have no idea. Thank you all for the constant messages in my inbox when I WAS finally able to come in and check, thank you for adding me and my story to your Favorites or Following lists—yeah, I got ALL those notifications. So yes, THANK YOU. XOXOXOXOXO**

 **Now some brief updates because what started out as a simple update at the time that I told you I would be letting you know what's been going on in my world, the MORE ish started happening! Well, I'll give you the essentials:**

 **I started a new job on September 7** **th** **, but I was being processed for the job from the end of June all the way PAST my starting day, so I was scrambling all around in THAT drama over there. BUT! I can say that everything has worked out for the best, I've settled in and I like my job, I really do. Now the only downside is this—TRYING to maintain balance in being able to indulge in SELF-CARE. I've been struggling for balance between work, play (this play includes my art, writing, reading, etc.) and SELF-CARE. So, meditation, exercise, proper sleep, great foods, etc. Like, I found myself to be EXTREMELY EXHAUSTED all the time. But no worries! I've figured out the cause (sleep, Spirit maintenance and the nutritional value of my eating habits), so now I'm in full recovery mode. As a Creatress, as a person learning to be comfortable with being my TRUE SELF and living my dreams, etc. :) We ALL have to extract the stress from our health. ;) Now that I'm carving out my regimen and getting into the swing of my daily routines again with this job added in, I'll be 100% on the up-and-up in no time! I'm so close! ^_^**

 **Now, back to "FALLEN." Truth be told, Chapter 6 was WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY longer than this. In fact, my original outline of Chapter 6 includes Natsu and the meeting with Makarov AND his weekend with Lisanna. But...as I was writing on and off, I started squirming because I was so painfully aware of how LONG I had you waiting, so...rather than wait until the ENTIRE original Chapter 6 was written, I picked a good cut-off point and what was originally the rest of Chapter 6 will NOW just be Chapter 7. Make sense? I hope so. Ha! ^_^**

 **Okay, enough rambling. I'm going to sleep! See you in the next chapter!**

 **XOXOXO**

 **P.S., I'm curious to know what are you thoughts about my portrayal of NaLi? Truth be told, I'm am HARDCORE NALU ALL DAY, EVERYDAY, I BLEED STAR DUST AND FLAMES for them, buuuutttt...I still kinda like Lisanna. See, in the fanfics I read all across the Internet, I'm so used to seeing Lisanna being portrayed as such a bitchy, jealous, evil girl out to destroy Lucy and Natsu's groove and well...for my story, I want to try something...less extreme. Ha. I literally place myself in her shoes and BECOME Lisanna. How would I feel, think, act, etc., in certain situations. Actually, some of her thoughts...are based on my REAL thoughts I had when I was a naïve little teenager learning about boys. And so MANY girls (even grown women) still have these inner reflections like this. Anyway, she really IS a kind girl, and while in canon Ms. Strauss just BETTER NOT EVER interrupt my S.S. NALU (I doubt she ever will), I can still allow myself to feel for her just a bit. Enough to WRITE about it at any rate. ;) Plus I want to explore the dynamic of what kind of relationship Natsu and Lisanna would have in contrast to what Natsu and Lucy actually have. :)**


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